Philadelphia, PA – On the home court of the preseason favorite to win the Colonial Athletic Association, the Hofstra women's basketball team fought hard for the entire 40 minutes in a 69-57 defeat against Drexel in the Daskalakis Athletic Center.
The Pride falls to 8-11 overall and 2-6 following the loss, and Drexel improves to 14-5 overall and 6-2 in the CAA.
Sorelle Ineza went a perfect 5-5 from the floor and 1-1 from three-point range for 12 points against the Dragons to lead the team in scoring. She was joined in double-figures by
Alarice Gooden with 11 points, and
Rosi Nicholson with 10 points. Ineza,
Brandy Thomas, and
Zyheima Swint all led the way with six rebounds each, and
Ally Knights dished out four assists.
Ineza got the game started with a pull-up jumper inside the first minute of the game, but Drexel responded with six straight points to pull ahead by four. After a Swint layup at 6:29, Drexel scored seven unanswered points to lead 13-4. The teams traded points the rest of the way before the end of the first quarter, as Drexel led, 22-13.
The Dragons upped their lead to 11 to open the second quarter, but Thomas and Ineza scored on back-to-back jumpers to cut the lead to seven at the 7:56 mark. Following a layup from Swint at 4:50, Drexel went on an 8-0 run to lead by 15 with 1:38 left in the quarter. Nicholson scored five straight points to pull within 10 before Chloe Hodges sunk a layup with four seconds left to put the score at 36-24 in favor of the hosts at halftime.
After Drexel opened the third quarter with four of seven points, Hofstra scored six straight points off layups by Thomas and Nicholson and an Ineza jumper to cut the deficit to seven at the media timeout. Drexel added four to its lead out of the break, but Hofstra responded with buckets by Ineza and
Emma Von Essen to put the score at 44-37 with 2:48 to play in the quarter. Drexel ended the quarter on a 7-1 run to lead, 51-38.
After a long two by Von Essen to start the fourth quarter, Drexel pulled in front by 14 twice inside the first seven minutes, leading 58-44. Thomas scored on a layup at 6:40, kicking off an 8-2 Hofstra run that brought the Pride to within six with 5:00 to go in the game. Gooden was responsible for five of Hofstra's eight points, while Nicholson sunk a three-pointer to put the score at 62-54. It would be as close as Hofstra came to tying the score, as Drexel scored six straight to put their lead at 12 with 28 seconds left.
Janaia Fargo sunk a three-pointer with 16 seconds left to put Hofstra within nine, but Drexel ended the game with three straight free throws to seal the double-digit win.
Keishana Washington paced the Dragons with 24 points. Maura Hendrixson led all players with 11 assists in Friday's game.
The Pride returns to the Mack Sports Complex on Sunday, January 29, against Hampton (6-12, 3-5 CAA), with a 2 p.m. tip-off. For ticket information, visit HofstraTickets.com, call (516) HOF-TIXX, or visit the Hofstra Athletics Ticket Office in the lobby of the Mack Sports Complex.
Notes:
-Drexel outshot Hofstra, 50.9-percent to 45.1-percent, but Hofstra shot 38.5-percent from beyond the arc to Drexel's 23.1-percent.
-The Pride outrebounded Drexel, 30-28.
-Hofstra's all-time record against Drexel moves to 30-49. Drexel has won the last 10 contests against Hofstra.
