The Hofstra Pride women’s basketball team suffered their fourth consecutive defeat as they fell to the Drexel University Dragons, 58-34, at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex on Friday, Feb. 24.
“Not our best showing,” said Hofstra head coach Danielle Santos-Atkinson. “Not our best outing, whatsoever.”
The Pride held the conference top seed to 26 points in the first half in an impressive defensive display, but lack of scoring ultimately cost them.
“Our execution wasn’t there,” said Santos-Atkinson. “We didn’t work hard enough to be able to score the baskets we needed. All of us are disappointed in our play and how we did today.”
Hofstra produced 24 defensive rebounds in their efforts to keep themselves in the game, but the offense stalled by giving up 13 rebounds and turning the ball over 25 times. The Dragons also produced 14 steals, highlighting the issues for the Pride on the offensive side.
The Pride’s efforts were stomped on by Drexel’s Keishana Washington, who finished as the top-scorer for her side with 21 points without making a single 3-pointer.
“We held her below her average,” said Santos-Atkinson. “She still shot the ball really well.”
While Hofstra kept the game a three-point deficit by the end of the first quarter, things began to unravel as the game carried on. The matchup was an uphill battle from the start, and the positives weren’t frequent.
“We got up and pressured them a bit. We held the majority of their team below average. Defensively, I thought we did a good job,” Santos-Atkinson said. “If we’re scoring, it’s a different ballgame. I thought our defensive efforts throughout the game were pretty good.”
Hofstra did see some bright spots offensively, including Emma Von Essen finishing with 11 points and making all three of the Pride’s 3-pointers on the night.
“We need people out there who are able to score, and she was able to do that,” Santos-Atkinson said. “[Von Essen]’s a freshman but she’s not a secret; she’s going to be on everybody’s scouting report as a shooter. She’s going to get tough defenders on her.”
With only one week left in the regular season, there is still a window of opportunity for the Pride to move up a couple of spots despite being second-to-last in the conference.
“We’ve got to take it one game at a time; we’ve got to understand the magnitude of each game,” Santos-Atkinson explained. “We are fighting for seeding right now, and the only thing we control is what we do. We’ve got three more games left. We’ve got to battle, fight, scrap, claw and give it everything we have.”
Hofstra will play their final home game o on Sunday in a rematch against the Monmouth University Hawks.
“We’ve got to watch this, we’ve got to learn from it, and we’ve got to make sure we don’t see it for the remainder of the season,” Santos-Atkinson said.
Photo courtesy of Evan Bernstein/Hofstra Athletics
