The Hofstra University women’s basketball team was bested by Campbell University in a 58-47 defeat on Friday, Feb. 13. The Pride tried to start up a streak after their last win over Hampton University but fell to 4-19 overall and 2-10 in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) standings.
“Coming out in that second half, I don’t think we had that same energy, bounce and fire that we had in that first half,” said Hofstra head coach Danielle Santos Atkinson. “We weren’t able to get the stops that we needed.”
In the first half of the season, the Pride’s issue was that they could not open games with the same strength that they finished them. Through their first 10 losses of the season, Hofstra averaged just 21 points per first half. But lately, they have been able to get those hotter starts going. Against Campbell, they held the lead going into halftime. The Pride started to fizzle out late into the game, though, scoring just nine points in the fourth quarter. Their average during the second half through their last three losses was just 20.67.
“We didn’t get stops, and if we’re not getting stops … we’re taking it out every time,” Santos said. “[Campbell] threw on a little bit of a press; [it] didn’t affect us much, but they were executing in that fourth quarter and down the stretch.”
Hofstra has done a solid job all season at attempting to contain their opponents’ best players, not allowing them to beat them alone. Campbell doesn’t have one surefire talent, as their top four scorers are separated by just 2.2 points per game. The Pride held their top three scorers to 13-34 shooting (38.2%), but the rest of the Fighting Camels shot 9-17 (52.9%), including Gianni Boone’s 6-9 performance.
With her three 3-pointers against Campbell, Emma Von Essen officially eclipsed second all-time in 3-pointers for a Hofstra women’s basketball player. Her total now comes to 232, passing Jen Brickey’s 230. Von Essen sits 59 3-pointers behind Cigi McCollin for first place, but with her pace this season, it doesn’t look like she’ll make it with just six games left. In her last two games, she’s averaging 3.5 makes and 8.5 attempts, compared to her first 21 this season, where she averaged just 0.95 makes and 4.05 attempts.
“What [Von Essen’s] done, what she’s brought to our program in these four years, it’s rare,” Santos said. “To be able to have somebody like her with such high character out on the floor and with us in practice every day – such a great leader – is something that has been great for not only me but for our program.”
Sandra Magolico has been dominant on the boards this conference season. Since the start of conference play, she’s averaging 11 rebounds per game, even with her high foul totals. In her last seven games, she’s totaled 24 fouls and fouled out twice. The Pride needs her inside presence on the court as much as possible.
“It’s a mental game for us on those Sundays,” Santos said. “We got to come back locked in – ready to go off the one day [preparation] – and be prepared to up and execute the game plan.
The Pride looked to bounce back and get into the win column once again when they faced off against North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University on Sunday, Feb. 15, at 1 p.m. The Pride and the Aggies have faced off just five times with Hofstra holding a 1-4 record against them.
