Despite finishing with a 12-20 record last season, the Hofstra University women’s basketball team’s final imprint on the season was a positive one, becoming the first 12-seeded team in Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) women’s tournament history to make it to the quarterfinals. That energy is central to the 2023-2024 campaign.
“I definitely think that momentum has carried over; all year, last year, we preached about the potential of our team,” said head coach Danielle Santos Atkinson. “When we were able to put it all together, what that could look like and how fun that could be, I was so happy for them to be able to experience that before ending the year. With that, the returning players have come back so much hungrier and more determined to see that come about a lot sooner in the CAAs as opposed to waiting until the end of the year.”
This season, Hofstra will take to the court with a very familiar set of players, as three of their top four scorers from a year ago are back with the Pride. Sorelle Ineza, the 5 foot, 7 inch guard from Langueuil, Quebec, is entering her final season with Hofstra, as the graduate student is setting her sights on one last ride in Hempstead.
“I love this program; it means so much to me,” Ineza said. “I’ve been here since [I was a] freshman, so it was only right for me to stay here and finish it all off with Hofstra. Having a support system, my coaches, my teammates, they’ve always been there for me.”
Ineza has improved in nearly every aspect of her game since coming to Hofstra. Last season, she averaged 10 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game, as well as 17 steals throughout the course of the season.
This year, there’s another facet for Ineza to develop: her leadership. With Brandy Thomas, last year’s leader in number of points earned, gone, Inzea is fully embracing her expanded role as the leader for the up-and-coming and returning women.
“I’ve felt like every year since I’ve been here, I’ve always been molded into growing, becoming a leader,” Ineza said. “Every year I’ve been impacted by so many people; my old teammates, the seniors that came before me, I’ve learned so much from them. This year I’m just trying to lead the next generation, our freshmen [and] underclassmen, with the help of my teammates.”
Ineza wasn’t the only player who led the team in more ways than one; freshman Emma Von Essen showcased a wide range of abilities at Hofstra. Von Essen averaged 7.5 points per game but lead the team’s 3-point shooting with 49 made shots from deep.
She fleshed out her potential in the CAA tournament with game-winning baskets in the first-round matchup against UNC-Wilmington and in the quarterfinal upset over North Carolina A&T State University.
With this, Von Essen knows that teams are becoming aware of her strengths on the court.
“In the offseason, I know I’m not going to get those easy shots anymore because they’re going to label me as a shooter, so I’ve just been trying to create different options and getting my conditioning up as well,” Von Essen said. “But I know they’re gonna be close to me, so I might have an opportunity to go by people now more easily.”
With practice underway and the season rapidly approaching, the Hofstra coaching staff is excited about what’s to come.
“It’s been great; I really enjoy this team, the way they’ve come together, the way they connect on and off the floor – [it] has made it a different experience, and that’s been fun to watch and see,” Santos said. “They are working extremely hard, and that is the one thing as a coach that you always want. You want to be coaching the concepts and the philosophies of what it is that we’re trying to do and not wanting to have to coach effort, and this team’s done a great job with coming prepared and ready to go every day, not forcing us to have to coach that effort.”
Practice has also led the way to discovering new faces for the upcoming season – players that are being built up to take the next step forward.
“Brooke Anya for us has just been a physical force down low; she’s been great coming in and being that secondary presence in the paint, along with Zyheima [Swint],” Santos said. “[Anya]’s been great to see, she’s been great to coach, she wants to be great and so she wants to understand how [she] can get better. We feel as though she’ll come in and be a great impact for us.”
The addition of Anya, a 5 foot, 11 inch senior transfer from Longwood University, creates an athletic and versatile asset on the inside. Anya averaged 7.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game and showed her strength on the defensive end with two steals per contest.
“On the perimeter, we’re a lot more athletic, and so with the guards that we’ve brought in have been really helpful with Tionna [Baker] and Micaela [Carter]; they’ve helped us in that athleticism and really being able to pressure the ball,” Santos explained. “[Carter] helps us as another point guard, being able to push the ball at a good tempo and having the ability to score and get downhill to create for others.”
Baker makes her way to Hofstra from Cleveland State Community College, where she put up an impressive 18 points per outing.
Carter, a freshman from Brampton, Ontario, averaged 12 points per game in high school and is already being looked at to make an immediate impact. Carter is also a proven winner, having been named an All-Star at the Canadian National Games and winning the bronze medal at the U16 International Basketball Federation games.
For Ineza, with her bidding farewell to Hofstra when the season concludes, she is poised to bring the CAA championship to Hempstead and is on all accounts grateful for the opportunities the Pride have given her.
“Every year the goal is to win a championship, and especially this year with it being my last year,” Ineza said. “Personally, I just want to be remembered as a good leader, a good person and a good player on and off the court. Someone who just enjoys life and brings the energy every day. The smile on my face – you’re never gonna catch me without a smile. And I just want to say thank you to Hofstra. They’ve invested so much in me, basketball wise, personal development wise, everything.”
The Pride has a contagious way to spread energy among the players and the game.
“One of the things we talk about are the controllables,” Santos said. “The few things that we can control is how hard we play, the effort that we give, the energy that we give and what we’re willing to give to our teammates. That’s what I want to see us doing at an all-time high. When you’re doing those things, the other things fall into place.”
Photo cou
rtesy of Hofstra Athletics
