No. 9 seeded Hofstra women’s basketball defeated top-seeded James Madison University in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) quarterfinals on Thursday, March 14, at the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark, Delaware. The 57-50 win for the Pride marks the first time in the CAA’s 36-year history a No. 1 seed has been eliminated in the quarterfinals.
Freshman guard Jakayla Brown led the way for Hofstra with a career-high 17 points (shooting 7-for-12 from the floor) and six rebounds.
“We talked going into this game about how one person can make a difference in a game, whether it’s a starter or a support player. Jakayla did that for us today,” said Hofstra head coach Krista Kilburn-Steveskey.
Following closely behind Brown in points was senior Boogie Brozoski with 14 points, shooting only 1-for-14 from the floor but sinking 11 of 12 free throws. Jaylen Hines also contributed a career-high 14 rebounds to the Pride’s win.
The game began with defensive strength on both sides as Hofstra held the Dukes to only three field goals and 17 percent shooting as the first quarter ended in a score of 10-8 in favor of James Madison.
Despite Caria Reynolds’ sole effort for the Pride in the second quarter, scoring all of Hofstra’s eight points, 3-for-3 from the field and two free throws, the Dukes remained ahead, 26-16, going into the locker room.
Well-rested and ready to fight after halftime, the third quarter saw the Pride take the lead with a huge 20-2 run as they scored 17 in a row and held James Madison from scoring for over seven minutes. Brown began the run with four straight buckets as Ana Hernandez Gil contributed two three-pointers in only 22 seconds and Brozoski and Marianne Kalin each added a shot of their own. The third quarter ended with the Pride up 37-32.
However, the Dukes fought back in the fourth with an 8-2 run to take back the lead as the Pride struggled with their possessions.
“We were not getting much out of those possessions. But when it was time we buckled down, they executed and they hit the shots,” Kilburn-Steveskey said.
The Pride quickly gained the lead back as layups from Brown and Hines put the Pride on top 43-42 with 3:16 left in the game. After two free throws from James Madison and a third three-pointer from Hernandez Gil, Hofstra saw another 10-4 run made up entirely of free throws from Brozoski that lasted from 1:33 all the way to five seconds remaining.
James Madison added a pair of free-throws and Brozoski sunk one more foul shot with four seconds left as the Pride won in a final score of 57-50, punching their ticket to the CAA semifinals.
“It feels great [to have qualified for the semifinals] especially after knowing we came in underdogs and everyone counted us out before we even stepped on the floor,” Brown said. “We proved to them we can play at the right time and moment.”
The elimination of the Dukes marks their first loss since Friday, Jan. 18, snapping a 13-game win streak.
“To have a chance to live another day – and then to beat someone you have a high respect for or who dominate our league – it’s nice for them to have that opportunity” Kilburn-Steveskey said.
Between Brozoski’s CAA Tournament record-breaking 42 points in a single game scored against Elon University and the Pride’s defeat of No. 1 seeded James Madison, Hofstra is currently on a historic playoff run.
“Yesterday Boogie had one of the best things representative of Hofstra, representative of the CAA and of everything. And then to represent Hofstra today with another huge milestone is pretty awesome to me,” Kilburn-Steveskey said.
The Pride will take the court again on Friday, March 15, at 1 p.m. to take on No. 4 seeded Towson University in the CAA Tournament semifinals.
The Pride haven’t appeared in the semifinal round since the 2014-15 season when they faced the University of Delaware as the No. 3 seed.
Image Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
