A strong comeback attempt from the Hofstra women’s basketball team was not enough in a 65-60 loss on Saturday, Jan. 23 to the Towson University Tigers at the SECU Arena.
The Tigers got off to a solid start in the first quarter as Aleah Nelson opened the scoring with a 3-pointer on the first possession of the game.
The Tigers started the game by taking a 10-0 advantage until Hofstra got its first bucket, a two-pointer by guard JaKayla Brown with 7:47 left in the quarter.
Towson guard Kionna Jeter’s 3-pointer toward the end of the first quarter gave Towson a 16-9 lead. Hofstra’s Brown cut the lead to five with a mid-range jump shot. The Tigers led the Pride 17-11 at the end of the quarter.
Both teams went scoreless for the first 2:09 of the second quarter, but it was Hofstra guard Jahsyni Knight who broke the cold-shooting stretch with a layup. Towson’s Shavonne Smith followed with a layup of her own soon after, bringing their lead back to six points.
After Hofstra’s Jaylen Hines cut the lead to four points, the Tigers went on a 12-0 run over the next four minutes to give themselves a 16 point lead.
Field goals by Hines, Brown and Zyheima Swint cut the Pride’s deficit to 10 points. Knight went 1-of-2 from the free throw line at the end of the second quarter, and the Pride entered halftime trailing the Tigers, 31-22.
Hofstra opened the second half on a 5-2 scoring run. Down the stretch of the third quarter, despite field goals by Towson’s Nelson, Jeter and Kiara Johnson, the Pride was well within striking distance.
With the Tigers leading 41-32 with 2:25 remaining in the third quarter, the Pride went on an 8-2 run cutting the Tigers’ advantage to just three points heading into the fourth quarter, with a score of 43-40.
Despite Brown opening up the scoring in the fourth quarter with a free throw for the Pride, the Tigers were able to give themselves some breathing room off of layups and free throws from Kubek and Jeter as they pushed their lead to 48-41.
A mid-range jumper from Hines along with two free throws apiece from Hines and Brown helped bring the Pride to within one point. Towson center LaKaitlin Wright’s layup pushed the Tigers’ lead back to three points with 6:41 remaining.
On Hofstra’s next possession, Hines brought it back to a one-point game with a second-chance layup, and just over one minute later, Brown gave the Pride a 51-50 lead. The Tigers took a lead after a Hofstra turnover, however, and held onto that lead for the rest of the game.
As the Tigers led 63-57, with three seconds left in regulation, Brown cut the Pride deficit in half with a 3-pointer. Although the effort brought the Pride back to within three points, it wasn’t enough, as two made free throws from the Tigers put them in front with a final score of 65-60.
“We did a great job, we limited our turnovers which was another emphasis for us going into this game and I think we got another great opportunity tomorrow [Jan. 24] to be able to come out here and have growth and some success,” said Hofstra head coach Danielle Santos Atkinson.
Throughout the season, the Tigers were averaging over 91 points per game. On Saturday, they were held to 65.
“Our team did a great job in our zone defense in really forcing tough shots,” Santos Atkinson said.
Brown led the scoring for the Pride with 19 points. Hines added 16 points and seven rebounds. Knight had 11 points and led the team in assists with eight.
With the loss, the Pride’s record fell to 2-5 in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play and 4-9 overall for the season.
Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
