The Hofstra University women’s basketball team has had a hot start to conference play, going 3-1 in their first four Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) games. The Pride now plan to meet their next conference opponent, Elon University, on Sunday, Jan. 19.
The Pride are coming off a 60-53 victory over the reigning CAA champions Drexel University. In this game, Chloe Sterling bounced back after shooting a career low from beyond the arc in the loss against the College of Charleston. Sterling lit up the Hofstra offense with 17 points, four rebounds and four assists in the win against Drexel.
Zyheima Swint notched a double-double against the Dragons, dropping 11 points on 4-6 shooting and pulling down 11 rebounds.
Against the Dragons, the Pride had a field goal percentage of 44.9%, which is significantly higher than their season average of 36.5%.
The Pride feasted in the paint with 22 points and got another 11 points from their bench.
Hofstra had been struggling with foul trouble throughout the season, however, they limited the fouls against the Dragons, only allowing 11 shots from the charity stripe.
The Pride have been finding their offensive groove lately by averaging 62.25 points per game in CAA play. They look to carry this momentum into their next game against Elon.
Historically, Elon has dominated Hofstra as they have defeated the Pride 16 times in their past 20 meetings. Their last meeting was March 7, 2024, when Elon knocked off the Pride 74-62. Emma Von Essen and Swint each had five points in that game against the Phoenix.
Iycez Adams, Elon’s top scorer in last season’s match up, returns to the floor. She poured in 20 points to lead the Phoenix to victory, only missing one shot in a 9-10 performance. Regina Walton also had a productive game against the Pride last season, putting up 11 points and three assists.
Stopping the one-two punch of Adams and Watson will be paramount for the Pride on Sunday.
This season, the Phoenix have struggled with holding onto the ball, turning the ball over 17.6 times per game. A lot of the Pride’s offensive success this season has come from turnovers, as they‘ve averaged 11.4 points off turnovers this season. However, in the game against Drexel, the Pride only put up six points off turnovers and only forced nine. Hofstra could have an opportunity to take advantage of Elon’s occasional sloppiness and continue to score off of turnovers
The Pride head out on the road to face Elon at the Schar Center on Sunday, Jan. 19. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. A broadcast can be found on FloCollege, and a radio broadcast will be available on the Hofstra Alternative Web Channel (HAWC).
