The Hofstra University women’s basketball team won 51-48 in overtime over the Wagner College Seahawks, improving to 1-1 this season on Saturday, Nov. 12.
“I thought we got off to a great start,” said Hofstra head coach Danielle Santos Atkinson. “It’s the experience of having to gut it out and get an ugly win. It was, by no stretch, a game that we would go back and say, ‘That was a pretty win.’ What I liked is they gutted it out and figured it out and found a way.”
Zyheima Swint shined on the stat sheet with a career-high 21 rebounds on top of nine points and four assists in the victory.
“Just staying aggressive,” Swint said. “Coach has been harping on me for [rebounding] and boxing out, so I’ve been trying to make that happen as many a time [as] I could.”
On the offense, the Pride had double-digits from three players: transfer senior Brooke Anya, graduate student Sorelle Ineza and redshirt junior Selma Markisic.
“It’s been great having her back,” Santos said. “Another guard in that perimeter that has the experience and the maturity and the ability to be able to contribute to our team and have an impact. It’s always [good] when you have somebody that has battled and defied the odds be able to come back and perform.”
The Pride kept the visitors virtually locked out of the mid-range in the first quarter, jumping out ahead 14-4 after the opening 10 minutes.
In the second half, the squads traded 11 points each, entering the halftime break with Hofstra in front 25-15.
The team struggled in the third quarter, as the visitors outscored the Pride 23-8.
“Middle of the game, though, we got a little out of rhythm; we were turning the ball over some and that allowed them to get some easy baskets,” Santos said. “They shot the ball 62% in that quarter; we gave them some easy stuff at the rim, some easy in transition, so we know we needed to hang our hat on defense.”
Hofstra recovered in the fourth, outscoring Wagner 10-5, most noticeable thanks to Ineza’s top-of-the-key three to send the two teams to overtime.
“I knew we were down three, and the whole game, my teammates were telling me, ‘Keep shooting, it’s gonna fall,’” Ineza said. “And I just had it in me, and I was like, ‘I’m gonna take this one.’”
While the Pride went 17-65 from the floor, they shot 16.7% from the 3-point line.
“We didn’t hit a lot of them,” Santos said. “We’re gonna have off nights, and so that’s what we talked about; when we are off, what else are we looking to do?”
In fact, the focus was shooting in close range.
“If we had 18 [3-pointers] and only 40 shots, then now that’s a problem, but we got up 65 shots,” Santos said. “We talked about wanting to get the ball to the paint and making that an emphasis, but [we have] very capable 3-point shooters, and I know we’ll come right back and have the ability to knock it down.”
The team reconvenes at home on Wednesday, Nov. 15, against the Delaware State University Hornets.
“I thought how we finished, defensively, we gotta continue to build there,” Santos said about what the team can improve for the upcoming match. “Just taking care of the ball and our execution offensively. When we have those open looks, we’ve got to focus and finish.”
Tip-off is set for 11:30 a.m. at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex in Hempstead, New York.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Matteo Bracco
