Hempstead, N.Y. – For the second consecutive game, the Hofstra Pride women’s basketball team played in an overtime game. And for the second consecutive game, they dropped a heartbreaker in the extra session, 53-51 to the Northeastern Huskies in the conference opener.
“Obviously not the outcome we wanted tonight in our first CAA competition,” said head coach Krista Kilburn-Steveskey.
The conference foes came out of the gate slow and anemic. Both offenses struggled to score in the opening frame going through periods of scoreless play including one that lasted over three minutes for the Pride.
Things got more interesting as the first quarter ticked down, when junior guard Olivia Askin drilled a three-pointer from the top left corner of the hardwood, giving Hofstra an 11-9 lead.
“I felt like we were ready to go today,” said Kilburn-Steveskey. “We were moving around but we didn’t have enough people doing that. You can’t keep moving around the perimeter. We needed to attack more.”
The shots weren’t falling for the Pride, who attempted 65, while only converting 20 times. Shooting beyond the arc made matters worse, hitting a season-low 23 percent of their three-pointers.
“We took too many (three-pointers),” said Kilburn-Steveskey. “We got too happy with it and the rebounding was not on our side.”
The struggles continued in the second quarter for Hofstra despite holding a 19-13 lead halfway through the frame. Krystal Luciano led the blue and gold – hitting two of her six attempted three-balls – compiling eight points.
Northeastern finished the first half on a 12-2 run to grab the lead, 25-21. Huskies center Francesca Sally dominated underneath the basket with several hook shots – four points during that specific run – while Maureen Taggart and Claudia Ortiz each added three points.
It wasn’t pretty for Hofstra – they were outshot from the field: 54 percent (7-13) to 27 percent (4-15).
After the Huskies padded their lead in the third quarter, Hofstra was ignited by the play and veteran leadership of Luciano and ‘sparkplug’ Sydni Epps. The Pride went on a 10-0 run thanks to two Luciano three-balls to bring Hofstra back into the game and give them the eventual lead.
Lost in the scoring runs and droughts for both teams was Ashunae Durant – held to just 10 points on 5-for-13 from the field. Northeastern pressured Durant the entire game forcing Hofstra’s leading scorer to come out of her comfort zone.
“I didn’t like some of the shots I took but definitely need to play more aggressive (next time),” said Durant.
The teams were held to a combined three points in the final four minutes of the third but the Pride held the one point advantage, 37-36.
The Huskies refused to go away in the final quarter. They clawed their way back into the game thanks to Sally muscling her way inside the paint on several occasions. She finished with a team-high 23 points and was the reason why Northeastern gained a 40-37 lead with seven minutes to play.
“I think we can do a much better job (guarding Sally) next time,” said Kilburn-Steveskey. “I thought in the second half, we were more aggressive on (Sally and Jess Genco).”
Five minutes had gone by in the fourth before the Pride scored a basket. They missed their first 10 attempts. Sandra Dongmo ended the dry spell for Hofstra and played strong defense to keep the game tied up with less than one minute to play.
Northeastern had the chance to win it on the final possession of the game with 12.3 seconds remaining but the Pride’s defense stood tall to force overtime.
Overtime followed the same script. Hofstra’s shots were not falling while the Huskies hustled their way on a 6-0 run. Despite Askin hitting a three-pointer to put the game within striking distance, the Pride couldn’t convert a buzzer-beating opportunity.
It was the first time since the 2014-15 season Hofstra played back-to-back overtime games and the loss snapped the Pride’s two game conference opening game win streak.
Hofstra is next in action on Jan. 6 when they begin a three-game road trip at James Madison.
