The Hofstra Pride women’s basketball team defeated the UNC-Wilmington Seahawks (UNCW) by a score of 46-45 in the first round of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championship on Thursday, March 10, at the Daskalakis Athletic Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
“[I’m] proud of this team, [we] had the grit and the tenacity to finish this one out,” said Hofstra head coach Danielle Santos Atkinson. “[It] wasn’t as pretty as we would have liked for it to be, but regardless of that they kept fighting and that’s what we’ve been talking about throughout the highs, the lows, the momentum swings, we want to continue to fight.”
The Pride opened the game with a made three-pointer by Jahsyni Knight. From there, Hofstra scored seven consecutive points, capped by a great fastbreak feed to Jaala Henry for the easy two, going up 10-0 with 6:52 on the clock as UNCW called a timeout. UNCW then went on a 6-0 run in the final three minutes to cut the lead to four. Hofstra tacked on two more points with 28 seconds remaining to take a 12-6 lead heading into the second quarter.
In the second, the Pride pushed its lead up to eight, 17-9, with 6:20 left. The Seahawks responded with seven straight points, cutting their deficit to a mere one point, 17-16 with 4:26 remaining. UNCW tied the game up at 18 after a layup by Sierra DaCosta. The Seahawks took their first lead of the game with 1:48 left to play, up 21-18 after a three-pointer by Allie Best. Sorella Ineza knotted things up once again and brought the Pride to 21 points with a three-pointer of her own. Hofstra retook the lead 23-21 after a made jumper by Rosi Nicholson, giving the Pride the advantage going into the halftime break.
The third quarter continued to go back-and-forth, with UNCW going back in front, 25-24, with 8:17 to go. Two made free throws for the Pride changed the lead once again, making the score 26-25. Hofstra led by as many as seven points in the third, going up 32-25 with under five minutes left in the quarter. The Seahawks cut it back to a one-possession game after a strong offensive rebound by Evan Miller. UNCW then tied the game at 35 with 22 seconds on the clock. It was a tough shooting quarter for the Pride, only going 2-11 from the field, with UNCW shooting 6-10.
UNCW grabbed its largest lead of the game, 40-35, with 7:48 to play. Hofstra regrouped quickly and went on a 6-0 run to give the Pride a 41-40 advantage. After a basket for UNCW, Jaylen Hines drove in for the layup to push the Pride back in front. The game was tied up at 43 until Ineza buried a clutch three-pointer from the wing with 1:06 left to play, giving the Pride a three-point lead. Best knocked down a jumper for UNCW to make it 46-45.
After a turnover with 13 seconds left, Hofstra had fouls to give, leaving only two seconds for the Seahawks. Mary McMillan got the inbound for the Seahawks but could not convert on a three-point shot at the buzzer, and the Pride hung on for the win.
For UNCW, Best had 14 points off the bench, going 4-9 from the three-point line. DaCosta added 11 points with three rebounds and three assists.
It was the Hines show for Hofstra. She dominated inside, scoring 22 points on 7-17 shooting and adding 11 rebounds including six on the offensive glass in 37 minutes of action.
“My coaches and teammates [have been] putting me in position around the basket to be successful and score, and also my teammates knowing me, knowing where I’ll be on the court, knowing where to find me, and me knowing them as well, how they pass, high-lows, things like that,” Hines said.
Ineza had eight points off the bench, knocking down two three-pointers. Despite not having a big offensive outing, Henry corralled nine rebounds and got her teammates involved with five assists.
The Pride now sets its sights on the No. 1 seed in the CAA Championship quarterfinals, taking on the Drexel University Dragons on Friday, March 11. Tip-off is set for 12 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics/Colonial Athletic Association
