The Hofstra University women’s basketball team lost a tough matchup to Drexel University 70-56 on Thursday, March 5. Hofstra could not pull out a Senior Night victory to celebrate their seven seniors. The Pride fell to 7-21 overall and 5-12 in conference play. They currently sit 10th in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) standings.
“A lot of emotions with this one and wanting to honor our seniors and send them out with a [win],” said Hofstra head coach Danielle Santos Atkinson.
The game opened with the roughest first quarter of the season. While the Pride have done away with their first-half woes as of late, the last two games have felt a lot like January. Hofstra scored its least number of points in a quarter with two, shooting 1-14 from the field. The Dragons led 24-2 after the first quarter and shot 11-19 from the field.
The final three quarters were like a whole different game. Hofstra shot 21-38 from the field for the remaining 30 minutes of the game while Drexel shot 16-46. Hofstra consistently went bucket-for-bucket with a top offense in the CAA, even cutting the lead to 12 in the fourth quarter. Drexel doubling Hofstra’s offensive rebounds was a major factor in the lead never ceasing.
“Really rough start to the game, you look at the stat sheet we got three quarters; tie, tie and win the fourth quarter by eight,” Santos said. “We’ve got to make sure we come better prepared and ready to play.”
Hofstra saw major production from its bench, with the bench outscoring the starting lineup 37-19. Emma Von Essen, Ayen Angoi, Sana’a Garrett and Michaela Hodge shot a combined 13-21 from the field and 2-5 from beyond the arc. Von Essen led the charge on offense in the second quarter, while Hodge stepped up in the fourth. Hodge had the best game of her collegiate career, totaling career highs in minutes played, points, steals, blocks and free throws made. She tied career highs in field goals attempted and free throws attempted.
“I challenged [Hodge] yesterday in practice to just be solid, to work extremely hard, to be vocal and have some energy, and she did,” Santos said. “I felt really comfortable going to her today with how she prepared and with how they played defensively.”
Hofstra honored Von Essen, Angoi, Sandra Magolico, Chloe Sterling, Alarice Gooden, Nevaeh Brown and Deivejon Harris as they stepped on the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex court for the final time in their careers. Von Essen and Gooden spent all four years of their career at Hofstra. The seven seniors combined for 1,031 of the Pride’s 1,443 points this season.
“My hope and my wish is that when they leave here, they leave here better people, better basketball players than they walked in,” Santos said. “I truly believe that these players that have come in, these seven, have grown in all areas but have also impacted all of us individually.”
Hofstra traveled to Boston, Massachusetts, to take on Northeastern University on Saturday, March 7, at 1 p.m. for the Pride’s final game of the season before the CAA tournament begins on Wednesday, March 11.
