The Hofstra University women’s basketball team traveled to Queens County to face St. John’s University on Saturday, Dec. 13. They battled hard, but the Pride fell to the Red Storm by a score of 63-60.
With six minutes and 40 seconds left in the game, Emma Von Essen scored a 3-point shot, giving her the boost she needed to reach 1,000 career points. She is the 27th player in program history to reach this milestone.
“[Von Essen hitting 1,000 career points] means so much,” said Hofstra head coach Danielle Santos Atkinson. “When you have players like [Von Essen] that have been here – they’ve stood the test of time, with me, with this program – for four years and has really just given her all … For her to be able to achieve that in her time, I’m just so proud of her, I’m just so happy for her, and, like you said, she means so much, not only to this program, but to me and my family.”
Hofstra got the scoring started with a Von Essen 3-pointer, but the Red Storm scored seven unanswered points and finished the first quarter strong, leading 18-9.
It was a tough first half for Hofstra, who entered the breakdown 34-19. Sandra Magolico led the Pride with eight points in the first 20 minutes.
The third quarter was defined by runs. The Pride went on a 6-0 run that was immediately answered by an equal one from St. John’s. Hofstra then responded with a 6-2 run and won the quarter, outscoring the Red Storm 19-17, but still had a lor of work to do, trailing behind 51-38 with 10 minutes remaining.
The Pride roared out of the gate to open the fourth quarter strongly. They cut the hefty St. John’s lead to a miniscule 52-51 advantage with a 13-1 run punctuated by a layup from Deivejon Harris.
Daniela Abies put the Red Storm on the board again with a huge 3-pointer, but a layup from Chloe Sterling and two free throws from Alarice Gooden tied the game at 55.
Brooke Moore hit a deep three to give the lead back to St. John’s, and the Pride couldn’t convert on the other end of the floor. Hofstra got a needed defensive stop from Sterling, who drew a foul on the offensive end, hitting both free throws and cutting the deficit to one point.
With less than 25 seconds left, Janeya Grant scored a corner three-point throw to extend the Red Storm lead to four, but the Pride answered right back with an Ema Karim three pointer from the top of the key.
Hofstra began to play the foul game to save time, and Kylie Lavelle scored one of the two free throws. Sterling drove to the basket with a chance to tie, but her layup attempt bounced off the rim. St John’s split their free throws again, keeping the door open for a Hofstra comeback, but Magolico’s desperate attempt to beat the buzzer missed, and the Red Storm held on.
“I’m just really proud of their effort tonight and how they fought and how they competed the entire game,” Santos said. “We have a crew that wants to win … We’ve got all the pieces, we’ve got that fight in us, and just to see us get closer and closer has been great. That second half, they did a great job of storming their way back and battling until the end.”
With the loss, the Pride dropped to 2-7 on the season, while the Red Storm improved to 10-2. Next up for Hofstra is a trip to the state capital as they take on the University of Albany. Tip-off is set for noon next Sunday, Dec. 21 from the Broadview Center in Albany.
