Late turnovers doomed the Hofstra University women’s basketball team to their fourth consecutive loss, a 62-60 defeat to Northeastern University on Sunday, Jan. 18. Chloe Sterling’s 20 points were not enough for the Pride, who dropped to 3-14 on the year with a 1-5 mark in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA). The Huskies moved to 6-10 with a 2-4 conference mark. Northeastern has won two of their last three after dropping their first trio of games.
Sterling dominated, hitting seven of 12 shots, including three from beyond the arc for 20 points in 31 minutes. Hofstra head coach Danielle Santos Atkinson was pleased with her star guard’s performance on Sunday.
“I thought she did a great job controlling our tempo [and] controlling our pace the majority of the game,” Santos said. “She played very steady and confident; that’s something that we need from her. She’s got to continue to do that.”
Hofstra forward Sandra Magolico had double-digit rebounds for the fifth time in six games. The graduate forward is averaging 7.8 boards per game and added six points.
Northeastern kept the Pride at an arm’s length for the first half, with their lead never dwindling below three points after they jumped out to a 10-7 advantage. Alyssa Slaten scored all eight of her points in the first half and led the Huskies to a 34-26 advantage after 20 minutes.
The Pride have had several solid third quarter performances this season. A dominant third got them back into the game against St. John’s in December and they repeated the formula on Sunday, outscoring the Huskies 14-4 and taking a 40-38 lead into the final stanza. Alarice Gooden scored six of their 14 points; she and Sterling were joined in double figures by Micaela Carter, who dropped 11.
“[Gooden and Sterling are] three-level scorers, they can get to the basket, they can shoot that 3 and get into their jumper,” Santos said. “When we have players like that who can score in multiple ways, those are weapons that we’ve got to be able to use, and I thought they did a great job of being aggressive tonight.”
Hofstra quickly opened a six-point lead in the fourth quarter, but the Huskies chipped away. The Pride took their final lead with just over four minutes to go, when Carter drilled her third triple to put her squad up 50-48. Northeastern roared back, taking a 56-52 lead. Justice Tramble then iced the game with five points in the final minute, all from free throws.
Sterling’s two turnovers in the final five minutes were devastating, preventing Hofstra from mounting a sustained rally.
Next up for the Pride was a road tilt with Towson University. Hofstra fell 47-46 to the Tigers at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex on Friday, Jan. 9. Their offense was engineered mainly by Gooden and Navaeh Brown, who had 11 and 17 points, respectively. Tip-off was set for 11 a.m. from SECU Arena on Towson’s campus.
