Thanksgiving is coming up very soon and the Hofstra Pride women’s basketball team had a lot to be thankful for Tuesday night. Hofstra cruised past the Delaware State University Hornets by a score of 64-44 at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Center. The Pride got off to an early lead, after forcing ten turnovers in the first quarter and never looked back.
“[The turnovers] really knocked some of the fire out of them. We felt like we could press them, we just couldn’t make a basket on the other end for a while,” Hofstra head coach Krista Kilburn-Steveskey said.
She was referring to the fact that there were no points scored by either team until Ashunae Durant’s free throw about three minutes into the game.
The closest Delaware State got to taking the lead was when the game was tied at four halfway through the first quarter. For the remainder of the game, Hofstra had the lead.
A 24 point second quarter, led by Ana Hernandez-Gil with 12 points allowed Hofstra to go into halftime with a 21-point lead.
“The whole team yelled at [Ana] for not shooting,” Kilburn-Steveskey said.
Ashunae Durant also had a fantastic game for the Pride, earning her second straight double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds.
“I’m getting more involved in the games so then my defense will come and then my offense will come as well,” said Durant.
Durant was also the only player to get to the free throw line until there were about four minutes left in the game. She went 7-11 from the line.
Another player who shined on the court was Aleana Leon. Leon finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.
Sandra Dongmo earned her first career double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Although this was a dominant win for Hofstra, they turned the ball over 18 times and only made 34 percent of their field goals.
“We certainly know we have a lot of work to do,” Kilburn-Steveskey said. “But we got the win and we’ll take that.”
Aleana Leon finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and two assists. Krystal Luciano added seven assists and six steals.
Sydni Epps tallied eight points and seven rebounds while Ana Hernandez Gil contributed 12 points off the bench.
The win brings Hofstra to a 3-1 record. Their next game will be on November 25th when the take on the Sacramento State Hornets in Sacramento.