The Hofstra University women’s basketball team grabbed its first Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) victory against UNC-Wilmington 54-46 on Sunday, Jan. 4. This hard-fought defensive win improved Hofstra’s record to 3-10 and 1-1 in CAA play. The Pride now sit 10th in conference standings.
“I tell [the team] all the time, you’re not gonna play a perfect game, but if they continue to compete the way they did today, that’s going to make up for a whole lot that we’re continuing to work on,” said Hofstra head coach Danielle Santos Atkinson.
Hofstra led by eight going into the second half, which has been a rare sight all season long. Santos emphasized how important it will be to get into a rhythm early in games throughout conference play. In their 10 losses, the Pride averaged just 21 points per first half. Against College of Charleston, they scored their most points in the first half of a loss with 30; against UNC-Wilmington, they scored 32 points.
“We’ve been in so many situations this year where we’ve had the lead, we lost the lead – where we’ve had to fight back, and we lose in the end,” Santos said. “I don’t think there’s been an adverse situation that we haven’t been in this year.”
While Hofstra scored 54 points and shot just 32% from the field, 25% from 3-point range and 60% from the free throw line – which were all season lows in wins for the Pride – their defense and rebounding propelled them to victory. The Seahawks scored their second-least number of points this season, the least coming to 18th ranked University of North Carolina, along with 35 rebounds, only seven coming on offense. Hofstra grabbed 42 and 17 offensive rebounds.
The Pride have been clicking more on both ends of the floor since the return of transfer guards Nevaeh Brown and Sana’a Garrett, as well as senior Chloe Sterling. Santos said in the previous game against Charleston that they’ve had fully healthy practices for the first time this season since their game against University of Miami.
Brown played 28 minutes and logged 15 points, four rebounds, two assists and one block and steal. She led the entire game in points as well as free throws attempted and made. Her scoring ability that was seen at East Tennessee State University and University of Central Florida are finally on display for the Pride.
“The great thing about [Brown] is [that] she’s been in it from the beginning,” Santos said. “Whether she’s been on the floor in practice or not, [the team has] heard her voice the entire year.”
Senior Sandra Magolico doesn’t have to score to have an impact on games. While she finished with just two points, she led the game with 14 rebounds and two blocks while also tacking on a steal. Her presence down low on both sides of the ball has been crucial for the Pride all season long. She’s averaging career highs in every statistical category this season.
“I challenged [Magolico],” Santos said. “The CAA posted all of the statistical leaders, and [Magolico] wasn’t on there for rebounding, and there’s no reason she should not be in the top five in the CAA in rebounding. She took that to heart, and now she’s got two back-to-back games of 14 rebounds.”
Even in her limited minutes, Deivejon Harris has found a way to make an impact on every single game. In just 12 minutes, she logged six points and six rebounds on 3-6 shooting. In her last six games, she’s averaged 6.67 points and 5.0 rebounds on 53.3% from the field with an average of only 13.17 minutes per game.
Only three teams in the CAA are without a conference win, so Hofstra will want to continue to widen that gap and rise up the rankings. They traveled back home to play Towson University on Friday, Jan. 9. Hofstra holds a 38-41 record all-time vs the Tigers, with Towson claiming their previous matchup 63-51 last season.
