The Hofstra University women’s basketball team lost a 73-65 heartbreaker in double overtime to the University of Delaware on Sunday, Feb. 9. The Fightin’ Blue Hens came alive, outscoring the Pride 12-5 in the second overtime to propel them to victory. The Pride have now lost five consecutive games and their record falls to 9-13 on the season.
“Really hard-fought game for our team,” said Hofstra head coach Danielle Santos-Atkinson. “I’m just really proud of their fight. There were moments in the game where we could have just rolled over and could have folded.”
The Pride entered the game without their starting point guard, Chloe Sterling, who is out with an injury. Sterling averages 13.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. Micaela Carter took several of Sterling’s minutes and put up six points and two rebounds on the day. She was Hofstra’s primary ball-handler and held down the fort on defense as well.
“I thought [Carter] did a great job,” Santos said. “She was solid. She led us on offense, and I always say she’s a two-way player and defensively she did a great job.”
Leading the Pride in scoring was Ramatoulaye Keita, who recorded a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Emma Von Essan and Zyheima Swint each scored 12 points and played a key role in Hofstra’s offense.
LaNae’ Corbett has been building back up to a full workload since she was out from injury. Corbett played 24 minutes and put up seven points.
“She’s still trying to get herself back,” Santos said. “She’s still trying to get herself in rhythm and just her second full game back, I thought she did a great job. She’s always going to play hard. We can rely on that.”
The Pride could not stop Delaware’s Tara Cousins, who put up 21 points and grabbed six boards.
The Pride continued to struggle with ball security, committing 25 turnovers, compared to the Fightin’ Blue Hens’ 18. Delaware was able to capitalize on the extra possessions, putting up 24 points on turnovers.
Out of the gate, the Pride struggled, recording nine turnovers in just the first quarter. Hofstra was able to come back from a slow first quarter and eat away at the Fightin’ Blue Hens’ lead. They played tighter defense, forcing eight turnovers and three steals.
In the final seconds of the half, the Pride were up until a half-court buzzer beater from Jiya Perry went in, giving Delaware a 27-26 advantage heading into halftime.
The Pride came alive late in the final minutes of the third quarter, going on an 11-2 run, capped off by a last-second shot from beyond the arc from Carter to tie the game
Hofstra cleaned up their offense in the fourth quarter, only committing one turnover. They fought until the final seconds on the clock and forced overtime, thanks to Keita getting a shooter’s bounce on another last-second shot
Heading into overtime, the momentum was with the Pride, who were beaming with excitement from the last-second theatrics. They continued to play hard until the clock wore down, but neither team could pull ahead, and another five minutes were put on the clock.
The excitement wore off as the offense of the Fightin’ Blue Hens was overpowering, recording 12 points to the Pride’s five in the second overtime.
The Pride look to snap their losing streak on Friday, Feb. 14, when they host Towson University. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m.
