In their last game of the season, the Hofstra University women’s basketball team stumbled to a 69-50 loss against the College of William & Mary Tribe, wrapping up a disappointing regular season for the Pride.
“Coming out, unfortunately, we were just not locked in; we weren’t locked in from the jump,” said Hofstra head coach Danielle Santos Atkinson. “Once we got rolling, we allowed them to get off to a hot start and allowed them some easy buckets. We got to be able to play multiple quarters.”
The Pride finished the regular season with an overall record of 10-19 and a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) record of 4-14.
In a losing effort for Hofstra, senior Brandy Thomas finished her last home game with a masterful performance, dishing out 21 points while shooting 7-16 from the field with nine rebounds as well. Zyheima Swint also remained unstoppable in the paint with 15 points and 11 rebounds, securing her second consecutive double-double.
“In that stretch, she was flying in there and getting after it,” Atkinson said. “They did swarm her in the second half; they knew she was a presence with her production in the paint. But she was still very effective. She was able to finish those baskets and get herself to the free throw line, which is what we want.”
William & Mary set the tone quickly, burying Hofstra to a quick 21-5 lead at the end of the first quarter. However, in the second, the Pride only allowed two points to the Tribe, trying to turn the game around to only be down 23-19 at the half.
“We did a great job at that,” Atkinson said. “We really got at it defensively in that second quarter; we had great communication and rotations. We didn’t give up points in big-time spots.”
The Tribe soon ran away with the game in the third quarter with a score of 52-33 following three stellar possessions from Sydney Wagner, Riley Casey and Bre Bellamy. Both Wagner and Casey sliced and diced their way through the Pride with 18 points respectively. Wagner also added six assists to the score sheet. Bellamy aided with 10 points, shooting 5-6 from the field and adding five rebounds off the board.
The Pride picked up the tempo in the fourth quarter by going 8-15 from the field, but the damage was already done with the scoreboard reading 69-50 in favor of the Tribe.
Hofstra has secured the No. 12 seed in the CAA tournament with the hope of putting together a run for the CAA title. Atkinson has confidence in her players.
“We want to keep playing,” Atkinson said. “We’ve worked so hard this year, and we don’t want to roll over and fold. We want to continue to get better and to play as a team. We play in that first game, which is not what we wanted, but we only have two options: either to roll over and be sad about it or to step up and fight.”
The Pride will look to save their season as they go up against the No. 13 seed, UNC-Wilmington, in the CAA tournament. The game will be played at the SECU Arena in Towson, Maryland, on Wednesday, March 8, with tipoff set for 2 p.m.
Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Evan Bernstein
