There was a lot of excitement in the air at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex as Sorelle Ineza pushed the Hofstra Pride women’s basketball team over the Loyola Maryland University Greyhounds 55-53 on Saturday, Nov. 20, in Hempstead, NY.
With the Pride leading 33-24 going into halftime, the game became tense in the second half as both teams were looking to add in the win column.
Loyola opened the half with a 13-2 run, putting themselves ahead 37-35 with under five minutes left to play in the third quarter. JaKayla Brown reclaimed the lead for Hofstra with a three-pointer, putting the Pride up by one, but the Greyhounds went another run and held a 43-40 lead heading into the final quarter.
Brown opened the fourth quarter by nailing her third three-pointer of the afternoon, tying the game at 43. After both teams traded possessions, the senior guard from LaPlata, Maryland, hit her fourth three-pointer of the game and put the Pride up by three. Rosi Nicholson added a layup not long after helping give Hofstra a 48-43 lead with 5:52 remaining.
On Loyola’s next possession, Laura Salmeron’s layup trimmed the Pride’s lead back to three, which Brown and Jaylen Hines then pushed back to seven after each added a pair of field goals for Hofstra.
The intensity inside the Mack Center grew as turnovers from the Pride resulted in an 8-0 run from the Greyhounds, giving Loyola a 53-52 lead with 1:57 remaining.
Both teams traded possessions until Hines was fouled and went to the free-throw line with her team down by one. After missing her first attempt she hit the second tying the game and forcing Loyola to call a timeout.
The Pride was able to secure a defensive stop on the ensuing Loyola possession as Sorelle Ineza secured the defensive rebound. Hofstra then called a timeout of its own to draw up a play with seven seconds remaining.
Coming out of the timeout, Brown inbounded the ball to Nicholson who was able to find Ineza. She quickly dribbled to her left and took the shot as the buzzer expired with the ball swishing through the net, giving the Pride a 55-53 win.
“It feels really good, but I didn’t do it by myself,” Ineza said. “I had a lot of help from my teammates, my coaches, my family, everybody that supported me, trusted me, believing in me, it feels good.”
Ineza finished the game with eight points and six rebounds, while Brown led the Pride in scoring with 20 points and tied a team-high with four assists. Hines was second in scoring with 14 points also tying a team-high in rebounds with seven.
“I thought our team did a much better job this game of playing with more intensity [and] more energy,” said Hofstra head coach Danielle Santos Atkinson.
The Pride will play their next game on Wednesday, Nov. 24, against the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. Tip-off is scheduled for 12:00 pm.
Photo courtesy of Evan Bernstein/The Hofstra Chronicle
