The Hofstra University women’s basketball team’s miraculous run – knocking off the seventh, third and second seeds in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) Women’s Basketball Tournament – came to an end at the hands of first seed College of Charleston in a 68-56 loss. Just a win away from punching their ticket to the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament for the first time in program history, the Pride now look to come back stronger next season.
“This team played their hearts out the entire tournament. The way they showed up here, the way that they fought this entire weekend is just so special,” said Hofstra head coach Danielle Santos Atkinson. “I couldn’t be more proud of the way they played.”
Hofstra’s defense picked up right where it left off all tournament to start the game and kept Charleston’s best scorers at bay. Taryn Barbot, the back-to-back CAA Player of the Year and eventual Most Outstanding Performer of the Tournament, started out the game 0-4 from the field. Hofstra grabbed a lead, but it was quickly taken back by the Cougars behind Barbot’s pair of 3-pointers, ending the quarter with a 18-11 Cougars lead.
Charleston’s free-throw woes killed their momentum, beginning a 9-0 Hofstra run to tie the game. Hofstra took the lead going into halftime 33-30, but another run from the Cougars made the deficit insurmountable. From the first inbound of the second half to five and a half minutes in, Charleston outscored the Pride 17-0. Hofstra tried its hardest to come back, cutting the lead to nine with an 8-0 run of their own, but stalled possessions on offense would halt their momentum; the Cougars went on to win 68-56.
“Charleston’s a great team with the ability to score the ball all over the floor,” Santos said. “I thought we played them really well. We had a tough third quarter, battled back in the fourth quarter and [we] came up short.”
Hofstra saw strong performances from many of their seven graduating players, a fitting end to their careers in Hempstead. Emma Von Essen, Chloe Sterling and Alarice Gooden were named to the CAA All-Tournament Team alongside a trio of Charleston players; twins Taryn Bardot and Taylor Barbot and Grace Ezebilo, the 72% scorer of Charleston’s points in the game. Despite not making the All-Tournament Team, Sandra Magolico finished her collegiate career extremely strong – averaging 7.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 2.3 blocks over the course of the tournament.
“You have [Gooden] and [Von Essen] who’ve been here four years with this program, and [Sterling] that’s been here for two, [it] feels like forever,” Santos said. “When you talk about not only great players but great people. … I not only took a chance on [Sterling] but [Sterling] took a chance on us. What she’s done and what they’ve done as a part of our program and having players that are loyal, four years it’s hard to have four-year kids nowadays, and to have those stick around with our program then do what they’ve done in their senior year is just special.”
Despite the season not ending with the ultimate goal – a CAA Championship and an NCAA Tournament berth – the Pride should look back on this season as a positive. Santos has stressed that this team has gone through adversity and could have laid down and quit, but they didn’t. The Pride have exceeded expectations like no other, and even with seven key players not returning next season, they look to carry these vibes and this momentum with them.
