Brandy Thomas’ buzzer-beater 3-point shot helped the Hofstra Pride women’s basketball team beat the Towson University Tigers 58-57, snapping their five-game losing streak on Thursday, Feb. 9.
“I am just so proud of this team and these ladies in their preparation and how hard they’ve worked,” said Hofstra head coach Danielle Santos Atkinson. “It has not been easy, and a lot of teams could have folded a long time ago and a lot of teams could have given in.”
The last second 3-pointer came on a possession where Sorelle Ineza was met with three Tiger defenders, leaving Thomas wide open beyond the arc to shoot the game-winning shot.
“[When] I turned around I saw her; she makes those shots every day,” Ineza said.
“I went to go set a screen for [Ineza]; I see all three people go to her, [so] somebody is open,” Thomas said. “I [was] screaming [Ineza’s] name, she passes to me [and] I hit the shot.”
Ineza put up a career-tying 21 points to go along with the game-winning assist. She shot 45% and kept the Pride in the game. She scored 12 of those points in the second half when it mattered most.
“My teammates, my coaches believe in me every single day at practice,” Ineza said. “We’ve been working so hard, and it’s time for us to get rewarded.”
In the first quarter, both teams struggled to find a rhythm. Each team made just four field goals and shot below 30% throughout the quarter. Towson established a full-court press that challenged the Pride’s guards to make quick and accurate passes to avoid turnovers. Hofstra freshman Emma Von Essen scored four of the team’s eight points early, but a jumper from Skye Williams gave Towson a 10-8 lead going into the second quarter.
The second quarter saw much more scoring. First, Von Essen and Ineza hit back-to-back 3-pointers that sparked a 10-0 run and gave Hofstra a 22-18 lead. Alexia Nelson drove to the basket for two strong finishes in a row to keep the score close going into halftime, 28-26. The Pride accumulated nine turnovers but outrebounded the Tigers 27 to 17.
“I thought we did a much better job at keeping them off the boards,” Atkinson said.
Von Essen made her fifth consecutive shot with a 3-pointer to start the third quarter. Shortly after the third period started, Thomas went down with an apparent leg injury that kept her out until the end of the period. Despite that, Ineza drove to the basket two plays in a row, giving Hofstra a 35-28 lead.
“I saw her and I was like I [got to] be aggressive and keep going,” Ineza said. “I heard her all game she was talking to me, and we were talking to each other, so we have each other’s back and we know we have to.”
After a free throw by the Tigers, Ally Knights hit a 3-pointer giving the Pride its largest lead of the game, 37-29. Towson fought right back with seven unanswered points. Thomas checked back in with four minutes left in the period and drew a foul resulting in the Pride’s first free throw attempts of the game. The quarter ended with a 40-40 tie.
“We had 17 turnovers, but a lot of those were in the first half,” Atkinson said. “We did a much better job with the press.”
Towson started the fourth quarter with four free throws and a basket from Anissa Rivera. They carried that lead all the way up until the final shot. The turnovers came back to hurt Hofstra as they recorded seven in the fourth quarter.
Ineza scored six points for the Pride to keep them in the game, including two technical free throws that came after Kylie Lucas-Kornegay celebrated an and-one that made the score 53-49. After a Rosi Nicholson layup, Thomas proceeded to score the last seven points for the Pride including the buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
“We’re going to keep working; we’re not going to take any steps backwards,” Atkinson said.
The Pride faces their Long Island rival, the Stony Brook University Seawolves, on Sunday, Feb. 12, at 1 p.m. for their next game.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
