The Hofstra Pride women’s basketball team wrapped up their four-game road trip with a defeat at the hands of the Morgan State University Lady Bears by a score of 58-46 on Monday, Dec. 6.

It was tough sledding for the Pride in the first half, as they only managed to put up 12 points through the first two quarters, while the Lady Bears held a 29-12 advantage heading into halftime.

“Today we once again had a slow start, we’ve been talking with this team about playing 40 minutes and we’ve got to play hard for 40 minutes,” said Hofstra head coach Danielle Santos Atkinson. “We continue to have these slow starts and it puts us in a tough position to then have to fight, scrap and claw.”

The third quarter was won by Hofstra, outscoring the Bears 19-13, but the Pride trailed Morgan State by 11 points going into the fourth quarter. Guard JaKayla Brown helped lead the charge in the third, scoring eight points to help cut the deficit.

“She’s always going to get their best defender on the floor, and that’s an adjustment you know. She’s continuing to make great plays, continuing to learn to play versus that best defender on the floor and our teammates are continuing to look for her and find her in different ways, and so we need her to continue to stay aggressive,” Santos Atkinson said.

In the fourth, the Pride continued their second-half momentum with a 9-0 run, bringing the deficit to only six points, 42-36, with 8:26 left to go. Morgan State answered the rally by the Pride, never letting the Pride get any closer as the Lady Bears held on for the victory.

Morgan State had three players in double-figures, with forward Dahnye Redd scoring 10 points in 36 minutes of action, to go along with her five rebounds and four blocks on the night.

Brown finished with 16 points and four rebounds for Hofstra in 34 minutes of play, shooting 4-16 from the field. Forward Jaylen Hines had a near double-double, putting up 10 points and nine rebounds in 25 minutes.

With the loss, Hofstra drops to 3-4 on the season and will look to get back on track as they return home to take on University of Mississippi on Saturday, Dec. 11.

Photo Courtesy of Evan Berstein/The Hofstra Chronicle