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Hofstra University Athletics

THE PRIDE OF LONG ISLAND
THE PRIDE OF LONG ISLAND
Kelly Loftus
Sophomore Kelly Loftus
64
Winner Elon ELON 17-11, 10-7 CAA
58
Hofstra HOFSTRA 18-10,11-6 CAA
Winner
Elon ELON
17-11, 10-7 CAA
64
Final
58
Hofstra HOFSTRA
18-10,11-6 CAA
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Elon ELON 46 18 64
Hofstra HOFSTRA 22 36 58

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | By Jim Sheehan

WBB: Hofstra's Second Half Rally Falls Short In Loss To Elon

Hempstead, NY – Sophomore Kelly Loftus and junior Darius Faulk each scored 13 points to spark a second half Pride rally from 26 points down but freshman Shay Burnett tallied game-highs of 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Phoenix of Elon to a 64-58 victory over Hofstra in a Colonial Athletic Association contest at the Mack Sports Complex Sunday afternoon.

Hofstra (18-10, 11-6 CAA) battled back from a 26-point deficit at 43-17 with 1:53 to play in the first half and closed to within two at 56-54 with just 2:54 to play. But while both teams went cold from the field, Elon sank eight of 10 free throws in the final 2:49 to post the victory.

Loftus tallied 10 of her 13 points in the second half while Faulk notched six of her 13 in the second 20 minutes and added four steals and a game-high eight assists for the Pride. Freshman Ashunae Durant chipped in with 11 points and eight rebounds while sophomore Anjie White had six points and a team-high nine boards.

Burnett, who hit five of six free throws in the final 2:49, added seven assists to her game-high stat line for Elon (17-11, 10-7). Senior Zara Stephenson added 16 first half points, including four three-pointers, to help build the big Phoenix lead in the first 20 minutes. Elon tied its season-high with 11 blocked shots, including six by sophomore Jenifer Rhodes.

The Phoenix jumped on the Pride early, scoring 16 of the first 18 points to open up a 16-2 lead just 6:56 into the game. Elon scored the first five points before White hit a lay-up at the 18:02 mark to put Hofstra on the board. But senior Shannen Cochraham's hook shot just eight seconds later started a 9-0 run for the Phoenix, with Stephenson's jumper at the 13:02 mark ending the run.

Faulk's lay-up at the 12:46 mark ended the Pride's 5:16 scoring drought, that also included five turnovers, as Hofstra scored seven of the next 13 points to close to 22-11 on a Loftus three-pointer with 8:31 to play.

The Pride made just 8-of-31 field goal attempts in thee first 20 minutes, though Faulk led Hofstra with seven points. Elon hit 18-of-30 field goals (60 percent), including seven of nine three-point attempts, with Stephenson scoring 16 and Burnett adding 12 to lead the Phoenix. Stephenson tallied two three-pointers in the final 2:49 as part of Elon's 10-5 run to close out the half with a 46-22 lead.

Both teams went cold in the second half as the two teams combined to go 6-for-34 from the field over the first 8:11 of the period. But at that point, Elon held a 52-29 lead before the Pride heated up and mounted a huge rally. Behind four points from Faulk to start the run, Hofstra scored the next seven points to close to 52-36 at the 9:31 mark on junior Asia's Jackson's three-point play.

Rhodes' jumper 23 seconds later stopped that part of the Pride run but Hofstra came right back, behind Loftus, and went on a 15-0 run over the next 3:53 to close to 54-51 on Durant's jumper at the 5:45 mark. Loftus tallied eight of the Pride's 15 points while Jackson had four to bring Hofstra back.

Burnett hit a layup for Elon 12 seconds later to boost the lead to five before Durant hit one of two from the charity stripe for Hofstra at the 5:11 mark and then hit a layup with 2:54 remaining to close to within two at 56-54.
 
While Elon was two for their last eight from the field to leave the door open, they were deadly from the foul line as Hofstra couldn't make a move and hit just two of their last 10 field goal tries. Burnett and sophomore Lauren Brown were lethal from the charity stripe over the final 2:49 with Burnett sinking five from the line and Brown burying four to keep the Pride at bay. Hofstra could only get a White layup with 37 seconds left and two free throws from Durant with 23 seconds in the final 2:50. The Pride hit eight of 14 free throws in the second half.

Hofstra players and coaches hosted a pregame skills clinich for the Special Olympics New York chapter, which is led by program director Tim Flynn.

Hofstra will return to action on Wednesday, March 4 to close out the regular season at UNCW. Game time is 7 p.m.
 
 
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