Just hours before the ball drops to ring in 2024, a different ball will be dribbled across the David S. Mack Sports & Exhibition Complex. The Hofstra women’s basketball team will begin a three-game homestand on Sunday, Dec. 31, hosting the Manhattan College Jaspers for their final non-conference game of the season.
The New Year’s Eve matchup between the Pride and the Jaspers marks the tenth meeting of the two squads, where the Pride maintains a 7-2 record over their incoming visitors, their most recent visit dating back to a 2009 73-65 win over Manhattan.
Manhattan is 7-3 overall with a 1-1 record against Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opponents. They are currently 5th in MAAC standings, earning their most recent victory against the Long Island University Sharks, 66-55, on Dec. 21.
The Jaspers average 57.7 points per game. Junior guard Nitzan Amar spearheads the Jaspers’ offense with 12.4 points per game, 16 made 3-pointers and 23 total assists. Sophomore guard Anne Bair is the only other member of the team scoring double-digit points, averaging 10.1 points per game. Junior forward Petra Juric leads the Jaspers in various defensive categories, including 79 total rebounds, 13 total steals and 14 total blocks.
Hofstra enters their matchup with the Jaspers after a 58-49 victory at Howard University on Dec. 21. Senior forward Brooke Anya recorded her second double-double of the season, breaking her career records for scoring at 17 points and 13 rebounds. Sophomore guard Emma Von Essen led the Pride in scoring with 18 points, going 4-9 from the 3-point line.
Von Essen and Anya were the team’s only double-digit scorers, accounting for 35 of the Pride’s points, as multiple non-starters contributed to the Pride’s total. Freshman guard Micaela Carter scored seven points while redshirt junior guard Selma Markisic, sophomore forward Kayley Joseph-Bernard, junior guard Tionna Baker and senior guard Ally Knights scored four each. Knights also earned four assists, as did Baker.
Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 31. FloHoops will air the game, and WRHU will air an audio-only broadcast through HAWC.
Photc courtesy of Rafael Suanes
