The Hofstra Pride women’s basketball team suffered its third straight Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) loss to the Drexel University Dragons, 69-57, on Friday, Jan. 28, at the John A. Daskalakis Athletic Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Pride is now 8-11 overall and 2-6 in conference play.
In the loss, Sorelle Ineza led the team with 12 points and six rebounds. Alarice Gooden followed closely behind with 11 points and Rosi Nicholson scored 10.
“I’m proud of how hard the team played tonight, said Hofstra head coach Danielle Santos Atkinson. “We had a slow start in the beginning, and for the rest of the game, we really got after it. From an effort standpoint, there were possessions there defensively that we gave up some really easy buckets that made it tough. Offensively, we had some great opportunities – some layups that we missed right there at the basket.”
To start the first quarter, Drexel came out the gates firing as they outscored the Pride by nine points. Ineza sunk the first bucket of the game, followed by a 13-2 run for Drexel. The Dragons dominated in the paint while the Pride struggled to have a solid offensive run. A jumper by Gooden decreased the deficit to seven. Gooden finished out the quarter for the Pride with a jumper and two made free throws to finish the quarter behind, 22-13.
The Pride picked up the pace in the second quarter, as Brandy Thomas and Ineza knocked down early jumpers. The Dragons responded with an 8-2 run, though a basket by Hofstra’s Zyheima Swint helped slow the Dragons temporarily. Nicholson scored a 3-pointer and a layup to try and keep the Dragons within a safe distance, but Chloe Hodges closed the half strong with a layup for the Dragons, going up 36-24.
Hofstra found their footing on the offensive end as Thomas, Swint and Nicholson all made much needed jumpers, bringing the deficit to seven. After points by Grace O’Neill and Maura Hendrixson for the Dragons, Ineza bounced back with one of her own in the paint, and Emma Von Essen made her first two points of the night.
Ineza added one more point in the quarter with one made free throw, but Drexel still held a comfortable lead on the game, up 51-38 going into the final quarter.
Von Essen kicked off the final quarter with a shot that jumpstarted an 11-7 run for the Pride. Gooden played a big role, accounting for five of the 11 points with a two-pointer and three made free throws. Following the drive, Nicholson sunk a 3-pointer, and Fargo did the same but those were the final points for the Pride, as they fell 69-57 against Drexel.
The Pride finished shooting 45.1% from the paint and 38.5% from beyond the arc.
“That slow start in the beginning hurt us,” Atkinson said. “Coming out in the third quarter, we had eight turnovers in that quarter alone, but we shot 60%. In [the third quarter], if we can get up and have more opportunities at the basket, that’s going to give us a better opportunity on scoring.”
The Pride returns home to the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex on Sunday, Jan. 29, at 2 p.m. in CAA competition against the Hampton University Pirates.
Photo Courtesy of Drexel Athletics/Jim Beaver
