The Hofstra Pride women’s basketball team fell to the Cleveland State University Vikings, 62-46 in Cleveland, Ohio, on Saturday, Nov. 12, dropping their record to 0-2.
“It was a tough one for us today,” said Hofstra head coach Danielle Santos Atkinson. “I thought we came out and didn’t have the best start that we could have.”
A sluggish start was too steep for Hofstra to come back from, trailing 20-8 at the end of the first quarter. The Pride managed to outscore their opponents in both the second and fourth quarters, but Cleveland State doubled Hofstra’s scoring output to begin each half, leaving the Pride in too deep of a hole to climb out of.
Cleveland State had four players score double-digit points. Brittni Moore had a double-double for the Vikings, scoring 11 points and grabbing 12 rebounds, while Destiny Leo led all scorers with 19 points as she went 7-7 from the free-throw line.
In total, Cleveland State shot 28 free-throws in the game, hitting 18 of them, as fouls were an issue for the Pride. Hofstra committed 23 fouls, nine of which came in the first quarter.
“We kicked off the game with foul trouble,” Atkinson said. “We got ourselves in a position where we had to go early into the bench.”
Brandy Thomas led the Pride in individual scoring with nine points. Zaniyyah Ross-Barnes, who made her second start for the Pride, tied for second in individual scoring with eight points, while shooting 50% from the field.
Freshman Alarice Gooden was one of two players who played 27 minutes for Hofstra and tied for the team lead with seven rebounds along with Zyheima Swint. Gooden was one of five players to convert from outside the 3-point line as she went on to score seven points for the Pride.
“[Gooden] brings toughness and competitiveness,” Atkinson said. “It doesn’t matter what’s going on; she’s going to play hard and she’s going to compete. We can rely on that every time she steps on the floor.”
Hofstra tried to climb back into the game in the fourth quarter and shrunk the lead to 15 after Rosi Nicholson made a jumper. On the ensuing throw-in, she intercepted the pass and nearly made a layup, but it went over the backboard. Cleveland State finished off their wire-to-wire win from there.
“In the fourth quarter we picked it up,” Atkinson said. “I thought we finished the game playing hard and strong. We held them to one field goal in the fourth quarter. But, obviously, with the other three quarters, it wasn’t quite enough.”
Hofstra women’s basketball will play their home opener against North Carolina Central University on Friday, Nov 18. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Evan Bernstein/Hofstra Athletics
