The Hofstra University women’s basketball team defeated the Delaware State University Hornets 66-53 on Wednesday, Nov. 15, at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex in Hempstead, New York.
“To be able to come out, walk out of here with a W again is something that we’re very proud of,” said Hofstra head coach Danielle Santos Atkinson. “Better intensity, better energy for a majority of that game. Proud of them, another gutted-out win that we were able to walk away with.”
Emma Von Essen and Zyheima Swint lead the Pride in points with 14 and 12, respectively.
“I know that last game she wanted to hit more shots, and Emma, as the competitor she is, got in the gym and continued to work, and I thought she hunted for shots,” Santos said. “We gotta continue to have that from her.”
Swint was also a heavy presence at the boards, coming down with a game-leading eight rebounds that day.
“We talked in the last game how we didn’t have enough points in the paint,” Santos said. “I thought she did a great job this game of coming in and really locking in, working early for position so that she can get a good position.”
A simple media time-out in the first quarter was the catalyst of a lead change in favor of the Pride.
“We had to change [our energy]; we were allowing it to slowly start to unravel, and we wanted to regain our composure and our poise and go back and play with the intensity and energy that had got us in the position that we were in,” Santos said.
Defense was a major focus for Santos’ squad going into the second half of the contest.
“In that second half, our goal was to hold Delaware State under 10 points a quarter, and we were just about there,” Santos said, as the visitors scored 11 and 7 in the third and fourth quarters, respectively. “We gave up way too many points in that first half, and defensively, it felt like our second-half defense was able to pick us up and propel us where we needed to be.”
Defense plus energy equals offense, and that’s exactly what happened in the third quarter. The Pride put up 23 points in just 10 minutes.
“I think it comes from getting stops on the defensive end,” Von Essen said.
Overall, this team is different than the team that faced Delaware State last year, and for Santos, it goes well beyond the score that’s left on the court.
“I think the maturity and the experience of the players that we have coming back, along with the players that we’ve brought in have allowed us to play with a lot more confidence,” Santos said.
Hofstra’s next game is on Sunday, Nov. 19, on the road against Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Photo by Matteo Bracco
