The Hofstra University women’s basketball team took a dismantling 95-38 loss at the hands of No. 7 University of Maryland in the opening game of the Discover Puerto Rico shootout on Thursday, Nov. 27. The Pride fell to 1-4 with the loss while the Terrapins improved to 9-0 for the second straight season.
“[The Terrapins] are daggum good,” said Hofstra head coach Danielle Santos Akinson. “They made a lot of things tough for us on both ends of the floor, which was expected; we knew the game would be tough.”
Hofstra never led and gave up 10 quick points before Sana’a Garrett got them on the scoreboard with a layup. In fact, the Pride turned the ball over five times before seeing it go through the hoop.
“They press throughout an entire game; we knew that going in,” Santos said. “[That is] something that we’ve gotta continue to clean up and get better at.”
Turnovers have continued to be an issue for Hofstra this season; 24 giveaways on Thanksgiving brought them to 100 on the season through just five games.
The Terrapins had four players reach double figures, with Kaylene Smikle leading the way with 13 while Addi Mack, Marya Boiko and Isimenme Ozzy-Momodu each had 10. The team shot 32-55 from the field for a 58.2% shooting percentage, with 12 of the 13 Maryland players who saw game action registering at least three points.
On top of turnovers, the Pride found some foul trouble as well, committing 20 personal fouls against a quick Maryland team with plenty of size in their frontcourt, sending the Terrapins to the line for 32 free throws, 22 of which scored. Smikle went a perfect 6-6 with Rainey Welson going 4-4 from the charity stripe.
Hofstra struggled in the rebounding battle as well, hauling down just 17 total rebounds, including five on the offensive glass.
“[Rebounding] is something that we didn’t do as well as we needed to do tonight,” Santos said.
Maryland grabbed 15 offensive and 25 defensive boards for an even 40.
The Pride’s frontcourt players struggled all afternoon against the tenacious Terrapins. Forwards and centers Sandra Magolico, Ayen Angoi, Deivejon Harris, Michaela Hodge and Ema Karim combined for four points. Olivia VanPatten added eight points of her own. VanPatten made two of Hofstra’s four successful 3-point shots. Emma Von Essen hit the other two. Von Essen, who now sits 28 points away from the 1,000-point plateau, had six points in a season-low 17 minutes.
Despite the ugly final score, Santos is optimistic that games against tough competition will prepare the Pride for Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) play.
“If we can handle pressure against the number seven team in the country, then walking into the CAA, we’ve gotta feel as though we’re prepared,” Santos said. “We’ve gotta continue to use these games as benchmarks for us to continue to see where we are and the things that we’ve got to get better at.”
The Pride wrapped up their stay in Puerto Rico on Friday, Nov. 28, with a match against East Carolina University.
