The Hofstra Pride women’s basketball team continued their red hot run at home on Wednesday, Dec. 7, improving their home record to 4-0 with a 56-53 win over the Army West Point Black Knights at the Mack Sports Complex.
The Pride is now off to their best home start since the 2016-17 season and has evened their 2022 season record at 4-4. “I’m so happy for this team,” said Hofstra head coach Danielle Santos Atkinson. “They put in so much work every single day. I’m so happy for this program, and this was just a glimpse of where we’re headed.”
The Pride had to scratch and claw their way to victory, trailing by nine points with 5:45 to play before going on a 14-2 run led by senior guard Brandy Thomas to end the game.
Thomas scored 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including a clutch go-ahead three-pointer with 1:04 left in the game. She also contributed five rebounds and two assists despite being limited to 21 minutes due to foul trouble. “I’m really proud of this crew for the way they dug it out,” Santos Atkinson said. “It wasn’t pretty, but they found a way and that’s what this game is all about.”
Freshman Emma Von Essen cracked the starting lineup for the second straight game and posted a pair of clutch three-pointers, the latter of which pulled the Pride within three points of the lead with 2:17 to play. Von Essen’s defensive efforts proved crucial for the Pride as well, as she managed a trio of steals in the win. “Emma has done a great job of stepping in,” Santos Atkinson said. “Everybody has done a great job coming off the bench and giving that same effort.”
The Pride has found themselves quite the uncanny backcourt duo, as the graduate transfer Thomas and freshman Von Essen combined to spearhead the comeback on Wednesday night.
“There were also some lineups that we don’t usually play with and you don’t expect to have that rhythm,” Santos Atkinson said. “We had to have some people come in and make some really great plays, and they did a phenomenal job holding it down.”
For Army, senior forward Sabria Hunter posted her fifth double-double of the season with 10 points coupled with a game-high 16 rebounds. Guards Kamryn Hall and Reese Ericson both chipped in out of the backcourt with 16 and 15 points, respectively. The Black Knights shot just 35.4% from the field and committed 21 turnovers in the loss, while Hofstra posted a new season low with 11.
The Pride return to action on Saturday, Dec. 10, as they travel to Baltimore, Maryland, seeking their first road win of the season against the Loyola Maryland Greyhounds. Last season’s matchup with the Greyhounds was certainly a memorable one for the Pride, as Sorelle Ineza drilled a game-winning jump shot at the buzzer to lift Hofstra to a 55-53 victory.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
