After cutting a massive deficit down to four points, the Hofstra women’s basketball team could not conquer the Stony Brook University Seawolves and fell 63-52 at the Island Federal Credit Union Arena on Monday, Dec. 14.
Hofstra is now 2-3 on the season and remain winless in the Long Island Rivalry since 2016.
The Seawolves came into the game 1-2 on the year, with their most recent game being a victory on the road against the Manhattan College Jaspers. Meanwhile, the Pride was fresh off a dominant home performance defeating the University at Albany Great Danes.
JaKayla Brown opened up the scoring for Hofstra in the early minutes of the first quarter, but Stony Brook eventually took the lead and never gave it back.
It was apparent from the beginning that both teams were coming out on the aggressive side, as early foul troubles set the tone for the rest of the evening. Hofstra’s Zyheima Swint committed three fouls coming off the bench and saw little playing time for the rest of the game. The Pride’s nine fouls were not exponentially greater than Stony Brook’s six, but the difference was the timing of the fouls as the Seawolves went to the free throw line 12 times and converted nine of them. Stony Brook led 21-12 after ten minutes of play.
The second quarter was the sloppiest of the game for both teams. The fouls remained a constant, and both squads were inefficient when it came to shooting. A barrage of contested shots led to only six points being scored by the Pride for the entire quarter. Out of an attempted 17 shots, the Pride only made two. Meanwhile, the Seawolves made five of their attempted 14 shots, including a trio of three-pointers from Earlette Scott giving Stony Brook a 37-18 halftime lead.
A rejuvenated Pride team came out for the second half with intensity, avoiding the mistakes they made in the first half by putting the full-court press to use and remaining a well-oiled machine. The Seawolves began to face the pressure of holding on to their massive lead as they had their lowest scoring quarter with 10 points. Hofstra’s Jahsyni Knight got the wheels turning early for the Pride offense scoring a three and a layup. After the Seawolves responded with a three of their own from Hailey Zeise, Hofstra went on a 7-0 run with Brown scoring five of those points. By the end of the quarter, the deficit was cut down to 12 with Stony Brook leading 47-35.
The Pride kept the momentum going in the fourth as Jaylen Hines got on the board for the first time by drawing fouls and cashing in at the line. An and-one opportunity came early on as Knight was fouled inside the paint. After missing the free throw, Hines got the rebound and the put-back while being fouled as well – a moment that saw the Hofstra bench fired up as the conversion cut the deficit to 48-44. The Pride would keep it close for the next few minutes, but Stony Brook eventually ran away with the game as they went on an 11-0 run near the end of the quarter.
Scott and McKenzie Bushee led the game with 14 points for the Seawolves. Scott also grabbed seven rebounds. For the Pride, Hines scored all 11 of her points in the fourth quarter. Brown and Henry finished with 10 points, with Brown also nabbing eight rebounds.
The Pride has two more non-conference games before their conference slate begins in the Colonial Athletic Association. Their next game is Friday, Dec. 18 when they travel to the Bronx to take on the Fordham University Rams.
Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
