Mike Rudin – Sports Editor
Hofstra women’s basketball won their fourth straight game by defeating the Boston College Eagles 75-61, improving them to 7-3. Four Pride players reached double-digits in points by the end of today’s game.
“I’m just proud of this group,[and] proud of us executing and just playing such a serial game,” said head coach Krista Kilburn-Steveskey. “Everybody has the hard [final] exam stretch, these kids were really stressed out this week but I thought it was one of the best weeks of practices leading in.”
Kelly Loftus had another superb outing, scoring 22 points to lead the team, while adding five rebounds. Loftus was scorching hot in the second half, scoring 20 of her points in the period alone.
“[I’m] really proud of Kelly gathering herself,” said Steveskey. “She’s so competitive. She turns around and just buckles in and finds a way to hit a dagger where we really need a dagger.”
Elo Edeferioka had a double-double performance, she shot 15 points and put up 13 rebounds in 28 minutes of playing time. Edeferioka’s rebounds were split nearly down the middle on both sides of the court; she made six defensive rebounds and seven offensive rebounds.
Krystal Luciano added 12 points, five rebounds and three assists in the game Sunday afternoon
After the first minute and eight seconds of the game, Hofstra took control and never lost it, maintaining the lead for the rest of the game.
Over the first six minutes both teams played defensively and hardly let any points reach the board. But eventually a couple of free-throws found the net courtesy of Anjie White to set a spark for a mini-run by the Pride.
Following two jumpers by Loftus and White, Darius Faulk provided an impressive fastbreak layup that capped off an 8-0 run by Hofstra with 11:49 remaining in the first half.
Boston College would go toe-to-toe after that point until the Pride created another streak at the 5:09 mark in the first half.
Edeferioka started the streak with a layup for two then Darius Faulk shot a pair of free throws, afterwards Ashunae Durant made a layup in the paint following a free throw of her own, and afterwards a 3-point shot by Krystal Luciano following her own free throw produced an 11-0 run for the Pride.
By the half, Hofstra led somewhat comfortably over BC, 34-26 . Edeferioka led the team with eight points at the half while Luciano was right behind her with seven points.
Boston College tried to get back in the game by the start of the second half with a 7-2 run to get within three points by the 18:06 mark, but Hofstra countered with a rally of their own to stay ahead. It was all Kelly Loftus during the rally, as she shot three consecutive 3-pointers to put the Pride up by 12 points.
The Eagles retaliated with six points but Loftus put up another three afterwards to bring the score to 48-39 in favor of the Hofstra Pride. Then, Loftus sank another three and Luciano made three consecutive free-throws by the 13-minute mark.
For the next 12 minutes, both teams would score against each other non-stop, equating to a 19-19 run until the final minute started to wind the game down.
Loftus made one last free throw with 53 seconds left in the game to get to the 20-point mark in a single half. After a BC three-pointer, Luciano scored the last four points in the game off of four free-throws.
Hofstra will enjoy the holiday break and then their next match will be on the road against Virginia Tech. on Dec. 30, starting at 7:00 p.m.
