By Mike Rudin – Sports Editor
A 14-0 run in the middle of the second half propelled the Hofstra Pride to a 69-57 over the College of Charleston Cougars. The Pride improved to 15-9 overall on the season as well as 8-5 in the Colonial Athletic Association.
Hofstra holds the third place slot, tied with Delaware, in the Colonial Athletic Association after the win.
“There were some points in the first half that we were struggling to get down. We have to grind it out on the road. We got to take care of the ball,” said head coach Krista Kilburn-Steveskey. “It’s learning at this point in the season. We need to understand a lot more with the momentum shifts. Again, you take it, know carry with us into [the next game against] Elon…I told them to chin up, you got the win.”
Freshman Ashunae Durant returned to from an injury that caused her to missed the last couple of games and picked up where she left off, as one of the premiere players for the Pride. Durant recorded a double-double against the Cougars with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
The only other player to outscore Durant on the Hofstra roster was Anjie White, with 16 points on the day. White also came up with five rebounds, four on the offensive side.
Kelly Loftus got the game going with a three, and later on Darius Faulk got the ball moving with a jumper for two. The 12-0 run continue when Luciano added a three-pointer, followed up with Loftus shooting back-to-back threes and White to top it off with another jumper.
The Cougars’ Breana Bolden would put the pressure on the Pride with two consecutive baskets for her team, who got back in the game with a Courtney Gardner jumper and an Erin Hall layup to slice Hofstra’s lead down to two.
The Pride gained some separation with a Loftus jumper plus a three-pointer from Aleana Leon to go ahead by seven. After both teams went back-and-forth scoring, Hofstra hit a small streak with three baskets in row for six unanswered points.
After Hofstra led by eight with 4:39 to go in the first half, Charleston ended the period with a bang, pulling one last scoring streak to cut the Pride’s lead to one point.
Within the first 37 seconds of the new half, Charleston took the lead by one point thanks to a pair of free-throws. Durant retaliated with three points – two from a layup and one from a free throw – to retake the lead.
Things then started to slip for the Pride with back-to-back baskets from Charleston. Durant tried to limit the damage with a two-point jumper but the Cougars hit harder with a three by Hall and a layup by Jackie Luna-Castro to put Charleston up by three in the opening minutes.
After a minute-and-31 second drought from both sides of the court, Hofstra went on a 14-0 shooting spree against the Cougars to give Hofstra a 14-point lead. Darius Faulk and Anjie White compiled all 14 points in the 4:01 span.
Charleston tried to get back in the game with three consecutive free-throws but the Pride attacked back with an Edeferioka layup and a Loftus three to put the margin to 16 points, the largest lead in the game.
With less than 3:19 to go, Charleston made one last rally in the game with 10 unanswered points scored but Hofstra ultimately killed any hopes with a 6-0 run, giving the Pride the 69-57 win.
Loftus supported the Hofstra cause with 13 points on the day – 11 in the first half – in just 16 minutes on the court. Luciano worked well coordinating with her teammates, as she led the Pride with six assists in the game.
The next matchup for Hofstra will be against the Elon Phoenix (14-9, 7-5 CAA) on Sunday Feb. 15. Tipoff is set to start at 1p.m.
