The Hofstra University women’s basketball team saw their season come to an end in the second round of the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Championship against the College of William & Mary (W&M), 76-65 on Thursday, March 13.
The Pride’s 2025 season was full of ups and downs. They faced injuries to key rotation players, struggled through a seven-game losing streak in the middle of conference play and succumbed to turnover issues all season long.
Yet, the Pride put together one of their most memorable seasons in recent years. Freshman LaNae’ Corbett was named to the CAA All-Rookie team, the first Hofstra freshman to receive the honor since Sorelle Ineza in 2020. Senior Zyheima Swint became the all-time leader for games played in program history while Emma Von Essen moved into the top five for 3-pointers made in program history. The Pride’s 14 wins this season and nine in conference play are the most in head coach Danielle Santos-Atkinson’s six seasons with the team and their best marks since the 2015-2016 season.
“It’s a testament to their character and who they are as people,” Santos said. “They had plenty of times where they could have made the decision to fold, they could have made a decision to quit, and they just refused. That’s the identity we want as a part of our team; is how hard we’ll work … what we’re willing to give to our teammates. I thought this team throughout the season, just every single time we got knocked down, we got back up and continued to fight, continued to work, continued to get better with a bigger goal in mind.”
Alarice Gooden led the Pride with a game-high 18 points and three assists as she continued to build a reputation as player that saves her best for the CAA tournament. Von Essen trailed her with 13 points, knocking down three 3-pointers.
“I just felt good during warmups,” Gooden said. “I had my teammates before the game telling me that I would be fine. I picked up the starting point guard role, so there’s a bunch of nerves going into it and a lot of expectations, but my teammates had my back, and they kept encouraging me. I was able to feed off that energy.”
Hofstra’s graduating players gave it their all in their final game, battling for 40 minutes as they fought back from multiple deficits. Swint finished with eight points and a team-high eight rebounds, Janaia Fargo added 11 points on 4-5 shooting and 3-4 from behind the arc and Ramatoulaye Keita recorded five points, six rebounds, two steals and a block to end her only season with the Pride.
“I just told them ‘The last game of your senior year is the toughest game, regardless of if it’s a win or loss,’” Santos said. “[I] reminded them of the impact they had on our team and our program on and off the floor. [Swint] has been here for five years, just watching her growth throughout that time … I always said that she’s learned to love basketball, and I love that for her, and they wanted it. [Fargo] has been a great leader for us throughout her time. This year especially, I thought she wanted to take the reins and really wanted to lead our team. [Keita] in just one year has meant so much. On the floor or off the floor she’s definitely impacted our team and taught those coming behind her what that should look like.”
The Pride dominated the glass in the first half, outrebounding W&M 22-12 with a 15-6 advantage in defensive rebounds, but they couldn’t get out of their own way as the Tribe capitalized on the Pride’s lack of ball security with 10 points off 11 Hofstra turnovers.
Despite their struggles holding onto the ball, the Pride outscored W&M 21-18 in a second quarter that included a 9-2 Hofstra run in the first three minutes.
Corbett gave the Pride a huge spark off the bench with eight points in the second. The Pride didn’t have a free throw attempt until the final three minutes of the quarter, but Corbett and Keita went to the charity stripe on four straight possessions down the stretch.
Bella Nascimento finished the first half with a 3-pointer to give the Tribe a 36-33 lead going into halftime. Nascimento finished with a team-high 17 points and five assists, a stellar bounce-back game after a four-point performance against the Pride in their first match up on Sunday, March 2.
A back-breaking third quarter put the Pride into a double-digit hole that they couldn’t climb out of. The Tribe outrebounded the Pride 10-6 in the quarter, grabbing four offensive rebounds which they converted to five second chance points.
Gooden got the scoring started early in the third quarter with a layup to bring the Pride within one, but Kayla Rolph hit her third 3-pointer of the game to put the Tribe up by four. Fargo responded with a three of her own, but the Tribe went on a 15-5 run over the next six minutes.
Von Essen tried to swing the momentum back in the Pride’s direction with a 3-pointer with 48 seconds in the third quarter, but Cassidy Geddes hit a buzzer beating 3-pointer to end the quarter, causing the W&M benched to roar to their feet.
The Pride did not quit, fighting back from an 18-point deficit with four minutes to play to draw within nine with a minute left. They couldn’t force the turnovers needed as the Tribe held on to advance to the quarterfinals.
Hofstra finished the season with a 14-16 record, going 9-9 in conference play not including the tournament.
