Searching for a home away from Geelong, Australia (a whopping 10,000 miles away), Ally Knights ventured to the northern hemisphere to the University of North Florida, but in her junior year, she made the switch to Hofstra University in Hempstead.
“When I came on my visit to Hofstra, there was very much a family vibe, which I was missing at my old school,” Knights said. “I felt very supported and cared for as soon as I stepped foot on campus. Being so far away from my family and my home in Australia, if I could find a place that felt like home to me, I was going to go there straight away.”
Family is huge for Knights, especially since she’s only able to see them for about five weeks each year.
“I am sacrificing a lot in terms of being here,” Knights said. “I have a little brother who’s 13 who’s growing up. I have my older brother, my parents, my grandparents – they’re getting older. That’s a sacrifice I had to make and that’s what motivates me in terms of like, if I’m here, I’m gonna give it my 110% effort because I want to make myself proud, I want to make my family proud, and I want it to mean something.”
This season is made special by the fact that it’s her senior season, so she knew that she wanted to leave everything on the floor and be the best version of herself. As a teammate, as a point guard and as a friend, she knew she wanted to excel. Let’s start on the hardwood.
“Personally, [I need to be] more aggressive downhill when I play and just [make] sure I continue to look out for myself and be the best point guard I can be,” Knights said. “As a team, we know what our potential is and [we need] to continue to stay locked in, fight, get better [in] every game and learn from them and keep moving forward. I believe in this team, and we believe in this program.”
A category that Knights leads the team in is assists and steals per game which is 3.8 and 1.4, respectively. It’s safe to say that a big part of her goals as a player this year was to be a more aggressive on the court.
“We wanted a true point guard, and [Knights is] that,” said Hofstra women’s basketball head coach Danielle Santos Atkinson. “We wanted a point guard that could lead our team; that could run our offense. We wanted a point guard that has some experience, that has the ability to get past people with a quick first step, and [Knights] checked all of those boxes. We wanted a point guard that didn’t mind being a vocal point guard, and she was that; we were able to check all those boxes and more with [Knights].”
Like any point guard, Knights’ has her leadership at the forefront of her mind, both on and off the court.
“I want to be that person who helps my teammates get through the good times, the bad times and kind of be a leader to show them the way in terms of how we want this program to look, the culture [around it and] how we want to compete,” Knights said.
To zoom out of her career for a moment, she’s been like that, dedicated and hardworking, for years. In high school, Knights realized that playing at a college level, or possibly even further, was an option for her.
“I slowly kept working hard, and I was very young. I was probably like eight when I started playing, so, year by year I got a little bit better,” Knights said. “I realized ‘Oh, okay, this is something I could do long term.’”
Even in her short time with the Pride, Knights has grown monumentally as a person and as a player.
“She’s just grown so much,” Santos said. “She’s grown as a person. She’s so coachable. I think this year she’s worked really hard. Last year, her teammates respected her just because of how hard she worked and what she brought daily and how consistent she was. I think this year she’s worked really hard to continue to build genuine relationships with everybody on the team so that she has the ability to hold everybody accountable and to be able to motivate them in their own way.”
Sorelle Ineza, a graduate student and fellow guard on the team, echoed those sentiments about how Knights has evolved these past two years.
“She was more reserved [last year] and was just trying to do her job by leading us on the court,” Ineza said. “This year, she’s expanded her leadership [by] being more vocal. She takes pride in all her abilities. She’s much more than just a point guard. She’s one of our best defenders, she can shoot the ball [and] she can get to the basket.”
Ineza also mentioned how Knights is always checking in with her teammates and how she’s not afraid to ask if any of them need anything, on or off the court.
“She’s always making sure that you’re good, like ‘Hey are you okay? Do you need anything?’” Ineza said. “She’s very vocal [and] very positive. She always gets us going like ‘Hey guys, we’re good. Keep going. Stay positive.’ Even if we’re down during a game, you’re still gonna hear her cheering us on and helping us be successful.”
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Alexis Friedman
