Optimism continues to radiate from the Hofstra University women’s basketball team after winning their second consecutive game of the 2024-2025 campaign. The game was at home against Yale University on Tuesday, Nov. 12. The 75-61 victory over the Bulldogs is helping the Pride shape a new, more positive team identity following their 11-21 regular season last year.
The Pride’s record is now 2-1, while the Bulldogs hold a 1-2 record early in the season.
“Every game, there’s something different that we’re learning from and in an area that we’re getting better at,” said Hofstra head coach Danielle Santos Atkinson. “I thought we had a bit of a slow start to start the game, but the way we brought ourselves back, the way we turned it and got ourselves going, I thought it was great.”
After a slow first half, the Pride led Yale 33-30 at halftime and outscored the Bulldogs 42-31 in the second half. The Pride’s top four scorers this season – Chloe Sterling, Emma Von Essen, Zyheima Swint and LaNae’ Corbett – all scored double-digit points.
After only scoring five points in the first half, Sterling finished with 21 points for the second straight game. The junior led all scorers, tying her career-high set in Hofstra’s last game against the New Jersey Institute of Technology.
“I wasn’t really worried about the points,” Sterling said. “I was trying to get it from the defensive end in the first half. I was getting my hands on a lot of the balls; I was trying to do more on the defensive end and help my teammates.”
Sterling grabbed three of her four rebounds and dished out four of her six assists in the first 20 minutes. The six assists were another career-high for Sterling.
The guard turned it up on the offensive end in the second half. With two three-pointers, and a tough one late in the fourth quarter, Sterling helped to put the Pride up 73-61 and seal the win.
Von Essen trailed Sterling with 19 points, which included a trio of three-pointers. After opening the game with a three, Von Essen improved as the game went on with four points in the second, five in the third and finishing with seven points in the fourth quarter.
Swint earned her second consecutive double-double with 14 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
Corbett has scored double-digit points in all three of her first collegiate games, making 11 points in her second home game with the Pride and trailing behind Swint with seven rebounds.
“[Corbett] gets herself to the free throw line; she crashes the board, she understands how to seal and work down there in the paint to create easier opportunities,” Santos said. “It’s allowed her to put up those numbers, so she’s bought into what we’re trying to do offensively, looking to stay aggressive, but also looking to do what the team needs in order to be successful.”
Kiley Capstraw led the Bulldogs with 17 points and five assists, while Ke’iara Odume had 13 points off the bench as the Bulldog bench outscored the Hofstra bench 19-8.
Yale’s Grace Thybulle, the cousin of Portland Trail Blazers player Matisse Thybulle, put in an all-around performance with 10 points, five assists and a team-high eight rebounds.
The Pride travels to Riverdale, New York, to play Manhattan University on Sunday, Nov. 17. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Alexis Friedman
