The most recent chapter in the Long Island rivalry between Hofstra and Stony Brook University was written in favor of the Pride on Monday night, as the Hofstra women’s basketball team held on down the stretch for a 67-64 victory on the road.
Ashunae Durant improved on her terrific performance in the season opener, scoring a game-high 22 points, and coming up just one rebound short of a double-double, with nine. Aleana Leon added 13, and freshman Marianne Kalin chipped in with 12 points off the bench, after being held scoreless in her Hofstra debut against Marist College on Friday night.
When these two teams met last season, it was Hofstra on the end of a very tight victory, and this year was no different. The two teams traded leads back-and-forth throughout the night.
Heading into the fourth quarter, the Pride found itself trailing by a basket after a late layup from Kina Smith put Stony Brook ahead.
The two teams traded buckets to open the final quarter. Then Hofstra point guard Krystal Luciano, who had been held scoreless up to this point, chose a huge moment to register her first points of the game, knocking down a three-pointer to give Hofstra a 48-45 lead with seven and a half minutes left to play.
After dozens of lead changes throughout the game, the Pride wouldn’t relinquish this lead for the rest of the game, holding the Seawolves at arm’s length for the rest of the quarter.
Despite Stony Brook pulling to within one point of the lead on multiple occasions down the stretch, Hofstra’s defense proved too stingy for the Seawolves to catch up.
Hofstra stretched its lead to 63-56 with two free throws from Kalin. The seven-point lead was Hofstra’s biggest of the night.
The Seawolves would fight until the final buzzer, capitalizing on some missed free throws from the Pride to make it a 66-64 game with just three seconds left.
Leon was fouled on the ensuing possession, and was only able to make one free throw, missing the second. Stony Brook got the rebound, but had no time to get off a final shot, and Hofstra escaped Suffolk County with a narrow victory, improving to 2-0 on the year.
Next up for Hofstra is a trip down to Maryland, where the Pride will take on Navy on Friday night. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
