Gainesville, FL – The Hofstra women's basketball team gave Florida everything it had for the entire 40 minutes, as the Gators won, 75-48, over the Pride from Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O'Connell Center on the Florida campus Monday night.
Hofstra sits at 2-5 to end its stretch of four consecutive road games. Florida snapped a four-game losing streak and improved its record to 4-4 with the win.
Chloe Sterling shined against the Gators, leading all players in the game with 19 points while contributing three assists and three rebounds for the Pride.
LaNae' Corbett posted nine points and seven rebounds against Florida, while
Emma Von Essen chipped in with seven points and two steals, and
Alarice Gooden scored five points.
Von Essen opened the game with a deep three, and
Zyheima Swint finished off a close-range layup to give the Pride a 5-4 lead inside the first three minutes of the opening quarter. After Florida took a one-point lead, Corbett knocked down a long two to retake the one-point lead for Hofstra. Florida pulled in front at 6:21 on a two from Ra Shaya Kyle, sparking a run of eight unanswered points to lead by seven. Von Essen and
Sabrina Larsson connected on free throws to bring the Pride to within five, but Florida finished out the quarter on an 11-1 run to lead, 25-10.
Hofstra's best performance of the night came in the second quarter, where they outscored Florida, 17-11, to close the gap to nine at the break. Hofstra opened the quarter on a 9-1 run to claw back to within seven of the Gators. A pair of Corbett free throws sparked Hofstra's run, which featured four points from Sterling and a Gooden corner three. Florida's Jeriah Warren hit a close-range basket at 6:37 to end Hofstra's scoring run, and both teams entered a scoring drought that lasted over three minutes following the two-pointer. Laila Reynolds scored for Florida at 3:28 to put the difference back at double-digits, but Sterling knocked down a three and
Ramatoulaye Keita scored on a layup to bring Hofstra to within six with 2:41 left in the half. Florida scored the next six points to lead by 12 with 33 seconds left, but
Janaia Fargo knocked down a three pointer with two seconds before halftime to put the score at 36-27 in favor of the host Gators.
Florida opened the third quarter with 10 straight points to lead by 19 before Corbett ended the run with a long jumper. Von Essen connected on a three in front of the Hofstra bench after a Kyle layup at 4:57, but Florida grew its lead to over 20 points by the 2:18 mark. Hofstra got back-to-back layups from Gooden and Sterling to bring the Pride to within 15, but a Warren three before the buzzer put the difference at 18 points after three quarters. Florida outscored Hofstra, 18-9, in the fourth quarter to come away with the27-point victory.
Kyle finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Gators in both categories, while Me'Arah O'Neal posted 14 points and 10 rebounds against the Pride.
Hofstra returns to the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex for two consecutive home games, the first on Sunday, December 8, against Howard. Opening tip against the Bison is 2 p.m. For ticket information, visit HofstraTickets.com, call (516) HOF-TIXX, or visit the Hofstra Athletics Ticket Office in the Mack Sports Complex lobby during normal business hours.
NOTES:
-Sterling has finished in double figures in all six of Hofstra's games thus far.
-With two threes against Florida, Von Essen now has 156 for her career. She moves nine threes away from passing Krystal Luchiano (164, 2014-17) for the sixth-most career threes in program history.
-Florida held a 46-32 advantage in rebounding and shot 50% (29-58) to 27.8% (15-54) for Hofstra.
-Hofstra is now 0-2 all-time against Florida. This was the first meeting between Hofstra and Florida in women's basketball since 1988.
