By Frank Aimetti – Staff Writer
It might not have been pretty, but it got the job done. Anjie White’s 16 points, including the go-ahead jumper with 5 seconds left allowed the Pride (16-9, 9-5 CAA) to escape Elon (14-10, 7-6 CAA) with a come-from-behind win.
A lackluster start from Hofstra put the Pride in a hole early, certainly not what they were looking to do in an away game against one of the tougher teams in the CAA. Nothing seemed to be working, as both the offense and defense struggled to find any sort of rhythm against the Phoenix. Ashunae Durant carried the Pride offense early as she seemed to be the only one who could find and create her own shot against the stifling Elon defense, scoring 6 of Hofstra’s first 11 points.
The deficit grew to 10 points with 7:50 left with the score 25-15. The offense was essentially a two-man show with the traditional one-two punch of Durant and Kelly Loftus unable to find any support from their teammates, as they scored 13 of the Pride’s first 15 points.
Though able to narrow the deficit to 33-26 going into the half, Hofstra’s playstyle was certainly not ideal as Loftus and Durant seemed to be the only Pride players able to score often.
The lack of support would not last long however, with Anjie White coming up big yet again in the second half. She scored all 16 of her points and recorded 4 of her 5 rebounds in the second half where she was simply unguardable. The only blemish on her day was inaccuracy from the line, where she hit only 2 of her 7 free throw attempts, odd for a 65% free throw shooter on the season.
“If it works, keep going to the well until the well runs dry, that’s what I was told growing up in Georgia,” Coach Kilburn-Stevesky said with a smile after the game.
White’s 16 second half points outscored the rest of her teammates combined and nearly matched the 20 second half points totaled by Elon’s offense.
“After the first half, I told myself that the team needed me and I saw what Elon was doing, which was being physical down low,” White said. “We needed somebody with an inside presence and that turned out to be me.”
Fighting back into the game on the shoulders of White’s hot shooting, Hofstra finally regained the lead for the first time since the opening minutes on a Loftus three-pointer with 9:16 to go.
It was a nip-and-tuck battle the rest of the way with Elon scoring the go-ahead basket with 23 seconds left to put them up 53-52. Anjie White earned two free throws but was unable to cash in on either.
Despite the misses, Hofstra was able to retain possession after Ashunae Durant came down with the offensive rebound.
After a full timeout, Anjie White put up the potential game-winning layup. It didn’t fall but White was able to come down with the offensive rebound off her own miss before rising for and hitting a clutch jumper to put Hofstra ahead. Krystal Luciano then stole the ball on the ensuing Elon possession, ensuring the Pride’s third straight win.
Hofstra looks to push its winning streak to four in their next game on February 19 against the Towson Tigers at the Mack Sports Complex. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
