After an 0-4 road trip, the Hofstra University women’s basketball team broke their four game losing streak with a 55-52 win over Howard University at the David S. Mack Sports & Exhibition Complex on Sunday, Dec. 8. The Pride improved to 3-5 on the season in their first home game since Nov. 12. Howard’s losing streak now sits at three and their record is 5-5.
LaNae’ Corbett had one of her best games of the season with a career-high 17 points and seven rebounds to go along with a career-high two steals.
“I basically felt like I was just unstoppable,” Corbett said. “My team gives me confidence like ‘go ahead, you got it.’ So, I feel like just having the confidence, and going in and driving because if I miss, I got somebody to get the rebound … and just observing and seeing how [the defense] is playing me.”
Chloe Sterling provided a strong first half performance, scoring 10 of her 13 points in the first two quarters while grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out a team-high four assists.
Howard was led by Zennia Thomas, who notched a double-double with 15 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Tyana Walker matched Thomas with 15 points on 47% shooting off the bench. Destiny Howell, the Bison’s leading scorer, was held to just 11 points on 4-of-16 shooting
The Bison jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead to open the match, but Corbett got the Pride offense rolling with a short-range and-one jumper. A pair of 3-pointers from Sterling helped the Pride jump out to a 12-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.
“I just think this team fought,” said Hofstra head coach Danielle Santos Atkinson. “It’s been hard, we’ve been away on the road for such a long time. There’s a lot of good, a lot of areas of growth in this game, one particular being the rebounding. Proud of how this team fought it out, stuck it through and finished the game.”
Corbett continued offensive assault with back-to-back layups to open the second quarter, fighting through another foul and establishing her presence in the paint. Emma Von Essen assisted on both baskets as the junior guard tied her career-high with four assists, still impacting the game despite a 2-12 shooting night.
Hofstra extended their lead to seven points with a 6-0 run midway through the quarter, but Howard responded in kind with a 6-0 run of their own to cut the deficit back to one. The Pride finished the half controlling the paint, grabbing four offensive rebounds in the final two minutes and earning two trips to the charity stripe en route to a 28-24 lead at halftime.
Both sides struggled to start the third, scoring just one point on a combined 0-for-11 shooting. Walker finished the quarter strong for the Bison with six of her 10 second half points coming in the third, including a pair of layups in the final two minutes to bring her side within two.
Three points from both Corbett and Micaela Carter down the stretch helped to maintain Hofstra’s lead as the Pride entered the fourth quarter with a 41-35 advantage.
Howard scored eight of the first 10 points in the fourth to tie the game at 43 apiece, but a 3-pointer from Von Essen put the Pride back on top. With the score at 48-45, neither team scored for over three and a half minutes until Sterling hit a jumper to put the Pride in front by five with just a little over a minute to go.
Howell tried her best to mount a comeback for Howard with five points in the final minute, hitting her only three of the game with 10 seconds left to bring the Bison within one point.
The Pride knocked down seven of eight free throws in the quarter with Von Essen and Carter hitting a pair of free throws in the final seconds to seal the victory.
“We found a way to finish it out,” said Atkinson. “That’s what we’ve got to be able to do. Find a way to finish it out, find a way to get ourselves out of a rut, find our way to get that momentum going back our way, find our way out of adversity, and I think that’s the biggest thing to take away.”
Hofstra returns to the court on Wednesday, Dec. 11, when they host St. John’s University. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. on MSG Network.
Photo courtesy of Annie MacKeigan/Hofstra Athletics
