WBB: Hofstra Continues CAA Road Trip At William & Mary

Hempstead, N.Y. – Hofstra will continue a three-game road trip on Friday when the Pride ends the regular season series against William & Mary at 7 p.m. from Kaplan Arena in a Colonial Athletic Association matchup.

Hofstra enters the week in a second-place tie with a 17-5 record and an 8-3 conference ledger. The teams will square off for the second time this season after the Pride beat the Tribe at home, 75-45, in a televised game on Jan. 27 at the Mack Sports Complex. William & Mary is 13-9 and 4-7.

Free live audio will be offered via Pride Productions with live video also available on the portal courtesy of William & Mary. The game can also be heard locally on terrestrial radio via WRHU (88.7 FM). Live statistics will also be available.

The Pride has won seven of the last nine and two of the last three, including a 74-56 at Towson on Sunday to start a road trip. The Pride will now head to Williamsburg, Virginia, before taking on defending-CAA champion James Madison for the second times in less than two weeks on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Several Hofstra players had standout performances in the first meeting against William & Mary. Junior guard Krystal Luciano posted a career-high 21 points and added seven assists. Fellow junior guard Kelly Loftus notched 12 points and senior guard Jakelle King-Gilchrist scored 10 points.

Hofstra and William & Mary are the two statistically best-shooting teams in the conference and enter Friday ranked 1-2 in field goal percentage. Hofstra is knocking down 39.8 percent of its shots while the Tribe has a 39.2 percent shooting percentage. The Tribe's defense has been one of the best in the conference in protecting the rim in blocking 5.4 shots per contest. William & Mary is also first in steals at 9.9 a game. Hofstra is third with 7.5, led by senior guard Darius Faulk's 1.7 average.

Despite having only one player in the league's top-five in assists (Jenna Green), William & Mary leads the league in the category. Hofstra has seen its dual-point guard lineup put both Faulk and Luciano in the league's top four in assists with Faulk coming in at third at five assists-per-game and Luciano fourth with a 4.2 assist average.

Luciano's eight assists against Towson gave her 314 for her career to move her past Tonya Yandrisevitz (1989-93) for ninth place on the team's all-time list. Next up is Nora Anderson's 329 set from 1995-99.

William & Mary's Malena Tremba and Abby Rendle are both averaging 13.2 points. Hofstra will look to counter with a strong defensive presence that features junior Anjie White playing her best basketball of the season. The George Washington transfer posted a 20-rebound game against Towson, marking just the eighth time in Hofstra history a player accomplished the feat and the first in more than three years.

White grabbed a career-high 13 defensive rebounds and added seven on the offensive side. She became the first Hofstra player with a 20-rebound game since Shante Evans, who accomplished the feat three times.

All nine players to get in the game against Towson scored at least two points, including sophomore Olivia Askin, who connected on a three-pointer and posted her first career steal.

Hofstra helped separate itself from Towson by drawing 27 free-throw attempts compared to just nine for Towson. Faulk went 8-for-8 and senior Asia Jackson, who scored 15 points off the bench, nearly matched that by going 7-for-8.

Hofstra is 26-9-1 in the all-time series against William & Mary. Hofstra has won three in a row in the series and 13 of the last 14 games dating to 2009-10, including a 3-0 record in that span in the CAA Tournament.

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Players Mentioned

#22 Olivia Askin: G; 5' 8"; Sophomore

#12 Darius Faulk: G; 5' 8"; Senior

#1 Asia Jackson: G; 5' 5"; Senior

#21 Jakelle King-Gilchrist: G; 5' 9"; Senior

#0 Kelly Loftus: G; 5' 10"; Junior

#11 Krystal Luciano: G; 5' 5"; Junior

#20 Anjie White: F; 6' 2"; Redshirt Junior

Players Mentioned

#22 Olivia Askin
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: G

#12 Darius Faulk
: 5' 8"; Senior
: G

#1 Asia Jackson
: 5' 5"; Senior
: G

#21 Jakelle King-Gilchrist
: 5' 9"; Senior
: G

#0 Kelly Loftus
: 5' 10"; Junior
: G

#11 Krystal Luciano
: 5' 5"; Junior
: G

#20 Anjie White
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Junior
: F