It was a tough day shooting from the field for the Hofstra women’s basketball team as the University of Mississippi Rebels defeated the Pride 59-37 on Saturday, Dec. 11, at the David S. Mack Sports Complex in Hempstead.
The Pride came into Saturday’s game looking to avoid a three-game losing streak. In the previous two games, Hofstra was unable to score 10 or more points in the first quarter.
The same fate began for the Pride as it trailed 14-8 against the Rebels after 10 minutes of play.
Hofstra was able to cut its deficit to four points on a Sorelle Ineza jump shot in the second period but Ole Miss went on a 10-2 run to end the first half and the Rebels lead the Pride 28-16 after 20 minutes of play.
Hofstra came out with great energy in the second half as it was able to make defensive stops and pull off a 6-2 run within the first three minutes of the third quarter to cut the Ole Miss lead to seven.
Angel Baker was able to capitalize on two free throws for the Rebels, but Jahsyni Knight and Caria Reynolds brought the Pride back to within six points, exciting the bench with 3:44 remaining in the third period.
The momentum didn’t last long for the Pride as Destiny Salary and Andeija Puckett each added two points for the Rebels to end the third quarter as Ole Miss found itself with a 41-31 heading into the fourth.
Jaylen Hines opened the fourth with a layup for the Pride, but the Rebels were able to go on a 10-0 run over the next three minutes as they took an 18-point lead over Hofstra.
Despite Hines and Zyheima Swint scoring the remaining four points for the Pride, Ole Miss had the upper hand as it defeated the Pride 59-37.
Hines led the Pride in scoring with 11 points while Swint led in rebounds with nine and Knight led in assists with three.
“I thought we had a much better start to the game. We had great energy, we had great effort on both ends for a majority of the game and I think that effort if we continue to build off that, the energy, if we continue to build off that, we will see some of the success we want to see,” said Hofstra head coach Danielle Santos-Atkinson.
The Pride will look to next Saturday, Dec. 18 when it heads to Ohio to face Cleveland State University. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
