A nine-point fourth quarter proved fatal for the Hofstra women’s basketball team Sunday afternoon, falling to UNC-Wilmington 59-55 at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex.
“Obviously, [there’s] nothing good to say when you lost to a team who won their first conference game,” said Hofstra head coach Krista Kilburn-Steveskey. “I can’t say they wanted it more. They were just much more desperate and played harder in that stretch.”
The Pride held a 46-41 lead heading into the final quarter, but the Seahawks, previously 0-10 in CAA play, managed to hit eight free throws in the closing minutes to seal the game despite going 0-8 on their final field goal attempts.
After a 10-4 run to close out the third frame, UNCW opened the fourth quarter with two three-pointers from Madison Raque to take its first lead all game 47-46.
“We were trying to stop that momentum from the third quarter,” Kilburn Steveskey said.
“We didn’t make an adjustment …They won that battle.”
Raque finished up with 23 points on 6-15 shooting, her third 20-plus point game this season.
Raque also sank five of the eight foul shots in the closing three minutes, going 7-8 total from the line, opposing Hofstra’s 3-10 team total on free throws.
In a physical game where both teams were handed out multiple technical fouls, Hofstra clawed their way back with a left-handed layup from E’Lexus Davis after crossing up two UNCW defenders to trail by one with 25.8 seconds remaining.
Davis had another chance for heroics. Wide-open on the left wing, she chucked up a three-point attempt with a few ticks left on the shot clock, but the ball rattled out, forcing the Pride to foul a Seahawk as time dwindled down.
Davis logged 29 minutes off the bench, totaling 10 points and four steals while committing just one turnover.
“It would have been a lot nicer for her to have the win and be looking back saying ‘I only had one turnover,’” Kilburn-Steveskey said.
The Pride came out of the gate on fire, shooting 10-15 in the first 10 minutes with a 21-16 lead behind Aleana Leon and Mikiyah Croskey.
Leon posted nine points and three assists while Croskey was 3-3 from the field. Leon ended with 14 points, five rebounds and three assists. Croskey recorded her first double-double in her collegiate career, dropping 10 points and snagging 10 boards.
Also for Hofstra, Boogie Brozoski collected 16 points and four rebounds, her seventh double-digit scoring game of the year and third straight.
Marianne Kalin went for a career-high 12 rebounds and two blocks.
Olivia Askin contributed three points, four assists and two rebounds on 1-5 shooting.
On UNCW’s end, Lacey Suggs scored 15 points, adding nine boards and five assists. Jenny DeGraaf helped with eight points and six rebounds.
The Pride (10-12, 4-7) returns to action looking to end its four-game losing streak Feb. 9 on the road against Towson University.
