The Hofstra University women’s basketball team could not overcome a barrage of 3-pointers from the Fairfield University Stags, as they lost by a score of 75-55 in their home-opener in Hempstead on Sunday, Dec. 6.
Fairfield lit up the Pride from the 3-point line, shooting 17-of-29 from deep as a team. They were paced by junior forward Lou Lopez-Senechal, who scored 23 points while going 6-8 from beyond the arc, as well as junior guard Rachel Hakes, who tallied a double-double with 17 points and 12 assists, having made all six of her shot attempts. Off the bench, senior guard and forward Eden Nibbelink was highly effective from deep, making 4-of-9 3-pointers.
“We did a better job in the second half, with [Fairfield] only making five [3-pointers], but that is a very, very large hole we put ourselves into,” said Hofstra head coach Danielle Santos Atkinson. “It’s hard to beat a team when you allow them to make 17 threes.”
Fairfield held an advantage of 22-9 in assisted baskets, as the Pride struggled to create scoring opportunities by moving the ball. All 14 of Fairfield’s shots made in the first half were assisted on. The Stags also finished with slight edges in rebounding and blocks, beating the Pride 35-33 and 5-4 in those categories respectively.
“We need to move on offense,” said redshirt-junior forward Jaala Henry. “[We need to] get together and find our positions on offense and find the open gaps to get a score.”
The Stags jumped out to an early lead thanks to a 9-0 run over a 2:38 span in the first quarter comprised of two made 3-pointers from Lopez-Senechal followed by one from graduate student guard Sam Lewis. They held a lead of seven points after the opening quarter, which they expanded to 16 at halftime.
Entering the fourth quarter up by 23, the Stags scored the first five points of the quarter before hitting a scoring drought that lasted for 3:17 before Lopez-Senechal made 1-of-2 free throws. In that time the Pride went on a 12-0 run to cut the lead to 16. The Stags went 5:04 without making a field goal, but closed the game with a 6-2 run in the final four minutes.
Henry had an effective game for the Pride, scoring 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting and bringing down 10 rebounds. She also tallied two blocks and a steal, contributing to Hofstra’s efforts on both ends of the court.
Junior guard JaKayla Brown finished with 13 points despite struggling mightily in the first half, where she missed all eight of her field goal attempts. She opened the second half with two quick baskets, though, and shot 4-for-9 in the final two periods.
“Coming out of halftime, [Brown] played with a lot more confidence,” Santos Atkinson said. “I think in the second half she came out a lot more aggressive playing with more confidence, but also took more high-percentage shots.”
The Pride’s record now sits at 1-2 this season, and they will look to return to .500 when they host the Great Danes of SUNY Albany at the Mack Center on Friday, Dec. 11 at 3 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
