The Hofstra University women’s basketball team snapped their seven-game losing streak thanks to Emma Von Essen’s game-winning 3-pointer with 2.3 seconds left to lift the Pride over Monmouth University, 57-54 on Sunday, Feb. 23.
“So proud of this team,” said Hofstra head coach Danielle Santos-Atkinson. “This stretch has been really tough, and after this past weekend, we could have had a team that decided they were going to fold, they were going to pack it in and that was going to be it, but we had a crew that showed up this week ready and willing to work.”
Monmouth’s Taisha Exanor tied the game at 54 points with five seconds left in the fourth quarter, but Von Essen drilled a contested step-back 3-pointer in the corner to give Hofstra the lead. With a chance to send the game to overtime, Exanor tried to hit a difficult three of her own but was blocked by Micaela Carter to end the Pride’s seven-game skid.
“I just had everybody coming up to me after [Monmouth tied the game] saying ‘go knock it down. Go shoot it. This is you, this is your time,’” Von Essen said. “My teammates just gave me so much confidence in that moment, and I said, ‘alright, I’m going to shoot it.’”
Zyheima Swint had a historic day, setting the program record for games played at 134. She celebrated the accomplishment by leading the Pride in both points and rebounds with 16 and 11, respectively, her fourth double-double of the year.
“It means a lot,” Swint said regarding her new program record for games played. “A lot of people can’t stay in one program and grow, you know? I stayed, and I did what I was supposed to do, I’m still growing, so it just shows the family that we have here; it makes people want to stay.”
Von Essen finished with 13 points, shooting 3-5 from behind the arc. Carter added 10 points, four rebounds, two blocks and a steal in her fourth start of the year as she continues to step up in the absence of Chloe Sterling, who remains out with injury.
“It’s hard, but we’re still good,” Von Essen said. “Everyone still has their heads up. We worked really hard in practice this week. We knew we worked so hard, we’re not coming out and losing this game; we’re gonna get what we worked for.”
Both teams excelled defensively, forcing bad shots and shot clock violations. The teams also combined for 35 turnovers. Hofstra capitalized on it, winning the points 19-17.
“We forced a team that doesn’t turn it over much into 20 turnovers,” Santos said. “To be able to fight through the finish with a limited roster like that, I think it’s great. This team is working hard. It’s taken us some time, we’ve had different lineups with injuries … but I knew it was going to come together. I knew it was going to gel if they would stick with it.”
The Pride earned its first win since Jan. 24, improving to 10-15 on the season and 5-9 in Coastal Athletic Association play. The Hawks fell to 13-12 overall and 8-6 in conference play.
With the win, Hofstra swept the season series with Monmouth, their first season sweep of a conference play since the 2015-2016 season over UNC-Wilmington.
The Pride will now look to build a winning streak with just four games left in the regular season. They will now hit the road when they travel to take on Hampton University on Friday, Feb. 28. Tipoff from the Hampton Convocation Center is set for 7 p.m.
