By Christian Heimall
“Great teams win on the road,” said Krista Kilburn-Steveskey, The University’s head women’s basketball coach before her team’s five-day road trip to Texas to play Southern Methodist and Rice. A one point loss to SMU and unexpected blowout at the hands of the Owls lead Hofstra down a slippery stretch. Last Thursday night in Harrisonburg, Virginia, the Pride clawed their way back up the hill with a thrilling 69-62 overtime victory against James Madison.
The Dukes were once ranked #25 in the country earlier this season and are led by the nation’s leading scorer, junior guard Dawn Evans (27 PPG). Hofstra’s tenacious defense held the country’s top offensive threat to only 15 points, just 3 in the first half. “I thought we were mature tonight,” said Kilburn-Steveskey. “That’s how you win ballgames…it’s anybody’s ballgame in this league this year.”
With the win, Hofstra improved to 11-9 on the season and 4-4 in the Colonial Athletic Association while JMU fell to 15-4 overall and 5-3 in conference. Hofstra also won their second straight game on the road, following their overtime win at UNC Wilmington. The Pride are winners of 4 of their last 6 games to move back to .500 in league play.
Hofstra trailed the Dukes by 7 going into the halftime break but held JMU to just 25.9% from the field in the second half (shot 43.8% in the first). The Pride also shot more free throws than their opponent in the game, going to the line a total of 36 times converting on 30 as compared to JMU’s 13 of 22 from the stripe.
Freshman guard Candace Bond led Hofstra in the overtime period, who scored all seven of her points in the extra frame. “She has an explosive first step, you saw the defensive pressure of her all year long,” Kilburn-Stevesky commented after the game. “I was teasing her, asking what kind of Kool-aid she was drinking at pregame and I know it’s red so we’ll have to do that again.”
Senior guard Sam Brigham led the Pride with a game high 19 points, including the game-tying layup at the end of regulation and a defensive stop to force the extra period. “Sam has been consistent as the Northern Star,” said Kilburn-Steveskey.
It was the first win for Kilburn-Steveskey at the JMU Convocation Center, where she was an assistant prior to being hired by Hofstra, and the first for Hofstra since the 2003-04 season. “It feels great, I have a lot of respect for [James Madison head coach] Kenny [Brooks]…I know that it meant a lot to the team as well as myself.”
Hofstra had three other scorers in double-digits. Sophomore guard Candice Bellochio had 15 points while fellow backcourt mate, junior Aamira Terry had 11 and freshman forward Shante Evans had 10 points to go along with 8 rebounds. The Dukes were led by Evans’ 15 but also had a 14 point effort from Lauren Jimenez in the post as well as Sarah Williams who finished with a double-double, 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Hofstra stayed on the road to travel to perennial power Old Dominion on Sunday, but fell to Lady Monarchs in Norfolk by a final of 51-46.
Freshman forward Shante Evans recorded 10 points and 8 rebounds to help the Pride beat James Madison 69-62 (Sean M. Gates/ The Chronicle)
