It was a third straight defeat for the Hofstra University women’s basketball team on Friday, Jan. 19, as the Pride was not able to defeat the Dragons of Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, losing 56-38.

Hofstra head coach Danielle Santos Atkinson’s team now falls to 7-8 on the season, with a Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) ledger of 1-3. Drexel goes to 9-7 in 16 games with a CAA record of 4-1. The Dragons now lead the overall series 50-31.

The Pride were led by Zyheima Swint with 11 points, nine of them coming from the 3-point range. Sorelle Ineza also provided a huge boost off the bench for Hofstra with 11 points of her own.

It was two minutes and 36 seconds before Swint got Hofstra on the board in the first quarter and then got the Pride within one point behind the charity stripe. However, Drexel proceeded to take control of the game, going on a 9-5 run to end the first quarter.

The second quarter did not start smoothly for Hofstra, as the Pride struggled to hit any sort of shot until four minutes in. They were down by 12 before Swint ended the scoreless run.

The Pride was able to fight all they could, but besting the Dragons proved to be even harder than expected. An Emma Von Essen 3-pointer and a free-throw from Brooke Anya made it an eight-point game later in the second quarter, but it wasn’t enough to make it a close score at the half.

The fourth quarter was the only part of the game where Hofstra was able to put double digits on the scoreboard in one frame. It started with a Swint jumper followed by an Ineza 3-pointer. Two straight layups and another made shot made it a 54-36 game. Anya’s final basket ended up being the last scoring play in the game with 2:19 left to go.

Even though it was a disappointing night for the Pride offensively, they were effective and poised on the defensive front, impressively holding Drexel to an empty 0-11 on 3-point attempts. Swint and Von Essen each had five defensive rebounds, while Anya and Ally Knights each had four defensive rebounds of their own.

Swint had four blocks for the second time in a game this season, tying her career high.

Chloe Hodges led Drexel with 14 points and was also one rebound away from a double-double.

Hofstra will look to get back on track when they return home as the Pride hosts the Elon University Phoenix on Sunday, Jan. 21. Tip-off from the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex is at 2 p.m.

 Photo courtesy of Alexis Friedman