The Hofstra Pride was defeated 77-65 by the reigning Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) champions, the University of Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens, on Friday, Dec. 30, in Hofstra’s first conference match of the season. Hofstra’s record dropped to 6-6 overall, and Delaware improved to 8-4.
“I thought the team fought hard. We had a good first half, and we shot the ball really well,” said women’s basketball head coach Danielle Santos-Atkinson. “We talked about this conference season being a game of runs, and we have to figure out a way to put a stop to the opponent’s runs and figure out ways to continue and keep stretching our run one possession at a time.”
Delaware struck first after a turnover from junior Ally Knights. Senior Rosi Nicholson bounced back with a three-point shot before a pass was sent to junior Zyheima Swint for the layup.
Delaware graduate student Kharis Idom sent the ball down to fifth-year Makayla Pippin, who made the layup and brought the Blue Hens within a point of the Pride after their scoring drive. The quarter ended with Hofstra trailing by three points, 17-20.
Senior Sorelle Ineza sunk the three-pointer at the start of the second half to tie the game up at 20. On the defensive front, Ineza stole the ball from Idom before taking it down the court, passing it to Knights, and receiving it again to put away the uncontested layup. Sophomore Mia Yanogacio bounced back for the Blue Hens with her own 3-pointer, but that couldn’t stop Ineza, who made another three for the Pride.
Freshman Emma Von Essen and Ineza converted their jumpers to add four to the Pride’s score late in the quarter. Pippin tried to add two for the Blue Hens, but Swint used her height to block the shot. Fouling was an issue for the Pride this quarter, as three fouls at the end of the quarter led to four points for the Blue Hens. Despite the fouls being an issue for Hofstra, they lead 34-30 going into the halftime break.
Swint maintained her presence on the court with the first bucket of the second half for the Pride. Knights got her first point of the night, making one of two free throws after being fouled while driving to the basket. Graduate student Brandy Thomas got the offensive rebound off of Knights’ missed free throw but was fouled in the process, resulting in two made free throws for the graduate student.
Von Essen sunk a three for the Pride for a six-point lead with a little over five minutes to go in the third quarter. After a 6-0 run by the Blue Hens, Ineza broke the run by sinking a jumper and converting one of two free throws that followed a technical foul on Pippin. With four seconds left in the quarter, Ineza took the final shot to bring the Pride within two of the Blue Hens, 50-48.
Thomas kicked off the last 10 minutes of the night with a jumper to tie the game at 50. Hofstra sophomore Zaniyyah Ross-Barnes put up a jumpshot of her own, and Ineza followed up with a three-point shot to keep the Pride going. Fifth-year Jewel Smalls poured in back-to-back three-pointers to keep the Blue Hens ahead.
Ineza then shot a three from the top of the key to get the Pride within one point of the Blue Hens. The Pride tried to use full-court pressure to stop the fiery Delaware offense, but it was no use as the Blue Hens finished with an 18-7 run to win the game 77-65.
The Pride finished shooting 43.6% from in the paint and 58.8% from beyond the arc, while the Blue Hens shot 46.8% from in the paint and 33.3% from beyond the arc.
To add, Ineza had a career-high 21 points.
“[Ineza] had a great impact out there for us. She’s doing a phenomenal job, and she’s playing with a lot of confidence,” Coach Santos-Atkinson said. “[Ineza] bringing it consistently will continue to help our team.”
The Pride return to the court on Jan. 1 to continue their CAA campaign against Long Island rival Stony Brook University at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex at 2 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Neil Miller/Hofstra Athletics
