By Joe Pantorno, Sports Editor

What goes into a handshake? Usually it is just a sign of recognition that both parties know each other; some sort of salutation. Businessmen simply shake the other man’s hand, acquaintances might make it a high-five and good friends might add some moves to the repertoire.

And then there is the Hofstra women’s basketball team.

Most fans know the drill. Before every game, after the national anthem, both teams’ starting line-ups are introduced with each player going through a tunnel of high fives. But the Pride does things a little differently.

Standing at the end of the high-five reception line stands freshman forward Kathy Nolisa who commences an intricate string of moves, some easy, some funny, for each member of Hofstra’s starting five.

“It’s my job and I love it,” said Nolisa on her duty of instigating the greetings for her teammates. “I’m the girl that doesn’t really care, I’ll dance, I’ll sing anywhere and everywhere. It sort of brings an energy to the team so they decided that I would be the one doing the great dances.”

Usually introduced first, Hofstra’s defensive anchor, junior forward, Candace Bond, shows off her toughness to the opposing side.

“I meet Kathy at the end and we slap right hands, then left hands and I finally end it with a flex of both my muscles,” said Bond. “It gets really hype. We scream, dance and chant and that really hypes the team up before the game.”

Hofstra’s leading scorer and rebounder, junior forward Shante Evans, has a little bit more fun with it.

“Well after I’m in my moment and I slap hands with all my teammates, I run up to Twiggy [Kathy] who stops me like we’re in the airport,” said Evans. “So I’m being interrogated. I have to put my arms up and she ‘searches’ me just to know it’s not a gimmick when I score.”

It’s no gimmick. Evans is averaging 17.8 points per game (ppg) this season, good for fifth in the Colonial Athletic Association.

“It was our first game against Gonzaga this year and I was just thinking about the airport and I said ‘Twiggy let’s try this,’ and we’ve been doing it ever since,” said Evans. “It gets me hyped up a little bit. Anything that hypes me up helps me out a lot during the game.”

Senior guard Candice Bellocchio has been doing her move since last year when a certain NBA star emerged from the University of Kentucky.

“Last year I did the John Wall and everyone thought it was really cute,” said Bellocchio. “I was going to switch it up this year, you know, new year, new team, but I just had to go back to it. It was my calling and it lets everyone know that I mean business when I pick up that right hand and start moving that fist.”

Bellocchio could very well be playing at the same level as the Washington Wizards guard, averaging 8.7 ppg and ranking 12th in the nation in assists, averaging a little over six helpers per game.

“It mentally gets me focused for the game,” said Bellocchio. “I have no rhythm so that one handed motion is all I can kind of do but Kathy Nolisa really gets me going with the three slaps beforehand.”

Sophomore guard Katelyn Loper has accumulated the title of “quickest release in the East,” for her ability to shoot three-pointers with the flashiest flick of the wrist with surgeon like intricacies. Like her shooting, Loper’s introduction is intricate and dangerous.

“I take my right hand, which is in a three signal, and shoot Kathy Nolisa — boom! Right in her right shoulder,” explained Loper as she showed just exactly how it was done with poor Nolisa being used for target practice yet again. “Then I take my left hand and BOOM! Right in her left shoulder. Then I blow them off because they are so hot, tuck them in and then I go to think that we’re going to jump up in the air together but we’re too cool for that.”

Loper’s handshake idea came to her with some help from a former Hofstra basketball legend last year.

“Charles Jenkins actually told me to do it in a game one time,” said Loper. “So I did it when he was in attendance and he told me, ‘Wow, you look really cool doing that,’ so then I decided to do it pregame.”

The last to be introduced, senior guard Nicole Capurso, had some trouble figuring out what she wanted to do before every game.

“Well, I just do my little shimmy as we call it,” said Capurso. “That started in Gonzaga actually where me and Kate [Loper] were just messing around saying ‘I bet you can’t shoot it like me,’ with like a shimmy so that’s where that silly little dance came from.”

There’s no trouble figuring out that Capurso is a force to be reckoned with on the court as the senior has fueled the Pride with scoring finesse in the past few games.

“I think everyone just plays to their strength and it just kind of reminds us again that this is who we are, this is what we do good and they better be scared.”

Junior forward Shante Evans (30) is “patted down,” by freshman forward Kathy Nolisa during pregame introductions. (Sean M. Gates/The Chronicle)