BROOKLYN, NY – In a Thanksgiving weekend clobber, the Hofstra women’s basketball team fell to the Sharks of Long Island University at the Steinberg Wellness Center 85-46 on Saturday, Nov. 30.
It was the first matchup between the teams since the 2007-08 season and the first since LIU’s rebrand from the LIU Brooklyn Blackbirds. The previously 0-6 Sharks earned their first win of the season against an inefficient Pride squad.
The Sharks pulled away in the second quarter to earn an eight-point lead at halftime and a dominant third quarter was the nail in the coffin as LIU outscored the Pride 22-7.
After a Jaylen Hines layup brought the Pride within 11 points three minutes into the third quarter, Hofstra did not score another point until there was just one second remaining in the frame, a 6:53 run in which LIU went 15-0.
Five different players for LIU scored in that span as the Sharks shot 6-12 from the field, compared to 0-12 for the Pride and 0-4 from beyond the arc. The Pride went 2-18 through the quarter.
JaKayla Brown and Marianne Kalin led the Pride in scoring with 10 points each. Kalin also had six rebounds, two blocks and two steals in the loss. Sandra Karsten snagged nine rebounds, seven on the offensive glass, the most on the Pride, but LIU’s Brandy Thomas led all players with 13.
Thomas starred for the Sharks, scoring 22 points on 47% shooting from the field. Shyla Sanford recorded 12 points and Mia Perkins and Jeydah Johnson tallied 11 apiece to round out the Sharks in double figures.
LIU had a strong advantage over the Pride in rebounds. In the first quarter, the Sharks grabbed five offensive rebounds and out-rebounded the Pride 10-8, opening up that advantage with a 16-6 difference in the second quarter. Hofstra burst to a 17-7 rebounding advantage in the fourth quarter, however, but it came only after the game had been decided.
After finishing the first quarter 7-12 from the field and leading the Sharks 16-15, Hofstra went a combined 7-47 through the next three quarters for their final thirty points. The Pride converted more free throws than field goals in the game, going 17-25 from the stripe and 14-59 from the field.
The loss marks the fifth in a row for the 1-5 Hofstra Pride, as the team has not won since their season opener at Hartford University. They will look to get back in the win column on Wednesday, Dec. 4, when they host the Morgan State University Lady Bears in Hempstead.
Image courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
