The Hofstra Pride women’s basketball team handedly defeated the UNCW Seahawks 66-54 on Sunday in North Carolina. The Pride had an efficient first half from deep, shooting 64 percent from beyond the arc.
Hofstra came out of the gates hot as they outscored UNCW in the first quarter 26-18, a lead they would not relinquish for the rest of the game.
Hofstra’s senior point guard Krystal Luciano recorded the Pride’s first ever triple-double in program history. Luciano dropped 21 points to go with her 10 rebounds and 10 assists, eight of which came in the first half.
Her 10 rebounds set a career high and her 21 points ties her career best. Luciano has found success against UNCW this season. In the previous meeting against them on January 20th, Luciano put up 15 points and nine assists in an overtime loss against the Seahawks.
Luciano has been on an offensive tear since the month of February began, but has had a tough go of it the past few games, shooting 1-12 in a loss to Delaware, and then giving up the ball eight times in a loss to Elon.
Luciano had a much-needed bounce back game against the Seahawks to help the Pride avoid losing its third straight game. She was 7-18 from the field, including 3-6 from deep, and also had three steals. Luciano currently leads the CAA in assists per game and is ranked 20th nationally in the category.
Luciano did not do it alone, though. Ashunae Durant, who is usually the leading scorer for the Pride, had a great game defensively. She had two rejections and four steals to go with her 12 points. Aleana Leon also added 10 points herself, including a perfect 2-2 from deep.
Jasmine Steele had 16 points and seven assists in the Seahawks losing effort and Madison Raque added 14 points. Both teams move to 4-11 in CAA play and Hofstra improves to 11-15 overall; UNCW falls to 9-17 on the year.
The Pride has a chance to end their regular season on a four-game winning streak with upcoming games against Towson and Drexel at home and rounding it out with a game at Northeastern. The Pride defeated Towson last time in Maryland by a score of 70-61, they rematch at the Mack Sports Complex Feb. 24 at 7 p.m.
