The Hofstra women’s basketball team caught fire in the second half but could not complete the comeback in their 69-56 loss at home against the Elon University Phoenix on Sunday, Jan. 19.
The loss drops their record to 3-13 overall, and they are still searching for their first win in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play. Marianne Kalin led the Pride with 16 points and junior Saadia Munford led all scorers with 20 points. Jaylen Hines continued her impressive sophomore season with 14 points and 11 rebounds, her fourth double-double of the season.
Elon got off to a quick start, taking a 9-4 lead within the first five minutes of the game. They took advantage of Hofstra’s sloppy play as the Pride turned the ball over nine times in the opening frame. In the first half alone, the Phoenix scored 19 points off 19 Hofstra turnovers. In total, Elon scored 31 points off of 28 Hofstra giveaways.
“If we’re able to cut [our turnovers] in half, it’s a completely different ballgame,” said Hofstra head coach Danielle Santos Atkinson. “We got up almost the same amount of shot attempts, [even with 28 turnovers], so that’s more possessions that we’re losing.”
Additionally, the Pride struggled mightily from the field early on, shooting just 15.4 percent in the first quarter. With the combination of turnovers and poor shooting, Elon generated easy looks, allowing them to shoot 48.4% from the field in the first half. They ended the half on a 32-11 run, leading the Pride 41-15.
Heading into the second half down 26 points, the Pride started to figure everything out on offense. Ana Hernandez-Gil got her first basket to start the scoring and Hines quickly added on an and-one layup. From there, the Pride offense erupted, shooting 61.5 percent from the field. They outscored the Phoenix 22-8 in the third quarter, cutting the deficit down to 12 points.
“Our energy and intensity were lacking in the first half. We were slow offensively. We weren’t cutting, moving and executing like we needed to,” Santos Atkinson said. “At halftime, we talked about our energy, our intensity and how hard we were willing to work in order to win the game.”
Part of what helped the Pride get back into a rhythm on offense in the second half was their defense. They forced 10 turnovers in the second half, including seven in the third quarter alone. Hofstra capitalized on these extra possessions, scoring 14 points off giveaways. The added pressure on defense forced Elon to take worse shots, leading them to shoot 25 percent from the field in the third quarter.
The momentum continued into the fourth quarter for the Pride, cutting the Elon lead all the way down to five points with a little over six minutes remaining in the game. Unfortunately for the Pride, redshirt junior guard Jada Graves took the momentum back, scoring seven of her 12 points in the fourth quarter to help the Phoenix take control of the lead. After the Pride cut the deficit to five, Elon went on a 15-7 run to close out the game, earning the hard-fought win.
“[I’m] really proud of this team and the way they fought back,” Santos Atkinson said. “Any team could’ve completely quit after halftime and rolled over and said ‘Today’s just not our day,’ They didn’t.”
The Pride hopes to pick up their first win in conference play on the road against the James Madison University Dukes on Friday, Jan. 24. This will be the first matchup between the two teams since Hofstra pulled off the stunning upset against the top-seeded Dukes in last year’s CAA tournament.
Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
