While most of the Hofstra University student body is leaving this weekend to spend Thanksgiving with their loved ones, the women’s basketball team will spend the end of the month in Florida for a pair of games against Sunshine State opponents.
Hofstra is slated to play Jacksonville University on Saturday, Nov. 30, as part of the Dolphins’ Friends and Family Weekend celebration.
The Pride will then face the University of Florida, Hofstra head coach Danielle Santos Atkinson’s alma mater, on Monday, Dec. 2.
The Pride enters the final stretch of their road trip with a 2-3 record, losing their two most recent games against Manhattan University 62-49 on Sunday, Nov. 17, and Lehigh University 80-61 on Friday, Nov. 25.
During the Pride’s game at Lehigh, Emma Von Essen and Chloe Sterling were Hofstra’s only double digit scorers, scoring 17 and 10 points, respectively. Sterling and Von Essen continue to be Hofstra’s most reliable scorers, as Sterling leads the Pride with 16.8 points per game while Von Essen trails with 13.4 points per game. Defensively, Zyheima Swint returns to lead the Pride in rebounds, as she did last season. Swint’s 9.4 rebounds per game overtakes LaNae’ Corbett’s 8.3, but the freshman is still proving her reliability in scoring and defending. Corbett scored eight points and made four rebounds against Manhattan.
The Dolphins enter their matchup with the Pride with a 4-3 record, having defeated Mercer University 74-49 at home on Wednesday, Nov. 27. Jacksonville silenced Mercer’s offense, limiting their scoring to no more than 14 points per quarter. Five Dolphins players scored double digits, including four starters. Graduate forward Makayla Edwards recorded a season-high 17 points. Saniyah Craig earned her second double-double of the season after scoring 11 points and making 10 rebounds.
This is the first time the Pride will face the Dolphins.
The Hofstra-Jacksonville matchup has a scheduled tipoff of 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 30 at Swisher Gymnasium in Jacksonville, Florida. Fans can watch the game on ESPN+, and WRHU will air a radio broadcast of the matchup on the Hofstra Alternative Web Channel (HAWC).
Florida University will return to Gainesville, Florida after participating in the St. Pete Showcase, facing off against Tulane University and James Madison University on Thursday, Nov. 28 and Friday, Nov. 29, respectively.
The Gators have a 3-2 record through their first five games of the season, most recently dropping a 98-74 loss to Florida State University. Florida University is scoring 87.0 points per game compared to their opponents’ 67.4 points per game. Freshman Liv McGill is the Gators’ young offensive weapon, leading the team with 19.0 points per game and a season-total 34 assists. Defensively, the Pride should worry about Ra Shaya Kyle, whose 9.8 rebounds per game mirrors the statistics Swint has been putting up for the Pride.
The Hofstra women’s basketball has only faced Florida once, over 35 years ago. The neutral-site game, played Dec. 29, 1988, in Philadelphia, was ruled a Gators victory 73-60.
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 2, at Exactech Arena at The Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, Florida. Fans can watch the game on SECN+ through ESPN+.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Matteo Bracco
