It came down to the final buzzer, but the Hofstra women’s basketball team was able to sneak out with a 77-75 win over Elon University in the first round of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Tournament on Wednesday, March 13, at the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark, Delaware. Boogie Brozoski led the way for the Pride, scoring a career-high 42 points and crossing 1,000 points for her collegiate career.
“I didn’t want to lose today. I didn’t want my college career to end today,” Brozoski said. “We live to fight another day.”
Midway through the second quarter, it didn’t seem like the Pride would need to be clinging on to the lead at the end.
The Pride played perhaps their most complete quarter to start out the game, scoring 26 points and taking an early 11-point lead on the Phoenix. They shot 61.1 percent from the field and played tough defense, forcing nine turnovers. The turnovers were key in limiting Elon, as despite shooting 50 percent from the field in the first quarter, they were limited to 12 shots, only one more than the amount of field goals the Pride made in the quarter.
“Our main point was to be the aggressor and not back down against anything,” said Hofstra head coach Krista Kilburn-Steveskey. “Again, you can have any kind of game plan, but these guys have to implement it, and they did.”
Brozoski had control of the game from the very start, as she had 17 points in the first half on 7-for-12 shooting. She was using her handle to get herself open and hitting her threes as well, going 3-for-6 from beyond the arc in the half. Her performance helped the Pride keep their momentum, even when the Phoenix started coming back, eventually cutting the Pride’s lead to seven by halftime.
“I had the fire. Coach was running sets for me. She saw that I had the fire,” Brozoski said. “Personally, it’s not about me at this point, it’s about my team. They trusted me with the ball. They put the ball in my hands, and I prevailed.”
The Phoenix continued to chip away at the Pride’s lead in the second half, going on a 17-12 run to cut the lead down to three with 1:41 left in the quarter. However, Brozoski followed by going on one of her best stretches of the game, scoring every point of an 11-5 Pride run that pushed them back ahead by 10 points.
In the second half, Brozoski was able to switch her style of play, attempting to draw more contact and get to the free throw line. After attempting zero free throws for the entire first half, she attempted 12 in the second and hit all 12. Her inability to miss at the line is nothing new, as she has now hit her last 39 free throws, a streak that dates back to the team’s 68-49 win over the College of Charleston on Friday, March 1.
Despite the free throws, the Phoenix were still able to fight back, as the Pride shot 27.3 percent from the field in the fourth quarter.
With six seconds left and a slim Hofstra lead of two, the Phoenix had possession with a chance to tie or win. Despite playing with four fouls, Marianne Kalin was able to contest an Emily Maupin three-pointer, forcing the miss and keeping the Pride’s season alive.
The Pride will now go on to face top-seeded James Madison University on Thursday, March 14, at noon. The Pride are 0-2 against the Dukes this season, the most recent of which being a 59-44 loss at home on Sunday, Feb. 10.
Image Courtesy of CAA Basketball
