By PJ Potter – STAFF WRITER
Kelly Loftus scored 26 points to lead the Hofstra women’s basketball team to a 71-66 win over Stony Brook Tuesday night at the Mack Sports Complex.
Loftus found her groove quickly, nailing two straight three pointers in the first minute of the game. She totaled 18 points from beyond the arc and shot 9-for-17 from the field overall.
“My teammates found me at the right time,” Loftus said.
With 36 seconds left in play and Hofstra leading 66-64, Darius Faulk did just that. She saw Loftus open behind the three point line and as the rest of the game had gone for her, she made the shot to put the Pride up by five.
“I’m certainly just very proud from top to bottom with this crew,” Hofstra head coach Krista Kilburn-Steveskey said regarding her team’s group effort on the win.
Hofstra dominated in rebounds on the offensive end, defeating the Seawolves 16-8, which led to 15 second-chance points.
“We kept harping on it [offensive rebounds],” Coach Kilburn-Steveskey said.
Every player that checked in for Hofstra grabbed a rebound and all but two had an offensive board.
Ashunae Durant carried much of the load for the Pride. She finished with her ninth career double-double and second consecutive. Durant collected seven offensive rebounds and 15 altogether.
“It was very physical down there. Just trying to get them [Stony Brook] out of the paint was tough,” Durant said. She also had 16 points to go along with four assists, two blocks and two steals.
The Pride controlled the majority of the game, but one of the main issues that kept the Seawolves lingering was their ability to score in the paint.
Stony Brook outscored Hofstra 22-12 down low in the first half and 20-18 in the second half (42-30 overall).
Stony Brook managed to attack the basket efficiently throughout the game and wasted no time getting to it. Of the seven field goals made in the first quarter, six of them went for two points on a layup. Overall, 17-of-their-23 shots made were layups.
“They really challenged you, so I think the more that we can change things up the better. I think this was the practice that we need,” Kilburn-Steveskey said.
Another problem the Pride encountered was foul trouble. Hofstra got to the line once in the first half compared to the nine free throws Stony Brook shot. The Seawolves went 18-for-27 from the charity stripe while Hofstra went 7-for-13.
Hofstra did not let up despite allowing 74 percent of Stony Brook’s points to come from free throws and layups.
Key factors to the Pride’s persistence were Darius Faulk and Krystal Luciano. Faulk accounted for eight points, three assists, three blocks, and two steals in 24 minutes.
Though Luciano shot 20 percent, Coach Kilburn-Steveskey thought she played a well-rounded game.
“I thought Krystal played a good floor game. I know her line didn’t show it. I felt like she found ways to help us on the floor,” she said. Luciano had five points and a team-high six assists.
Hofstra (2-0) will face their first road test of the season Thursday, Nov. 19 in Washington, D.C. against American University at 7 p.m.
