Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Hofstra University Athletics

THE PRIDE OF LONG ISLAND
THE PRIDE OF LONG ISLAND
Emma Von Essen
Alexis Friedman
Emma Von Essen
54
Monmouth MU 13-12,8-6 CAA
57
Winner Hofstra Hof 10-15,5-9 CAA
Monmouth MU
13-12,8-6 CAA
54
Final
57
Hofstra Hof
10-15,5-9 CAA
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Monmouth MU 11 14 13 16 54
Hofstra Hof 11 20 10 16 57

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Nick Kapatos

Von Essen’s Clutch Three Lifts Hofstra Past Monmouth; Swint Becomes All-Time Program-Leader for Games Played

Hempstead, NY – A clutch three-pointer by Emma Von Essen with five seconds to go in the game, plus a double-double performance from Zyheima Swint, carried the Hofstra women's basketball team to a thrilling 57-54 win at home over Monmouth.
 
With the score tied at 54-54 and the clock set at 5.0 seconds, Von Essen received the inbound pass from Alarice Gooden, took a step behind the three-point line and drilled a corner three with a hand in her face to give the home team a three-point lead with 2.3 seconds left in regulation. On the ensuing Monmouth possession, Micaela Carter got enough of the three-point attempt by Taisha Exanor to block the shot and guarantee the win.
 
Sunday's win snaps a seven-game losing skid for the Pride while putting Hofstra at 10-15 overall and 5-9 in the Coastal Athletic Association. Meanwhile, Monmouth sinks to 13-12 overall and 8-6 in league play.
 
Von Essen finished her day with 13 points on 5-12 shooting and 3-5 from beyond the arc, and Swint posted her fourth double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds while adding three blocks and two assists. Carter also finished in double figures with 10 points, and Janaia Fargo led all players with five assists in Sunday's contest.
 
In addition to her on-court performance, Swint became the Hofstra women's basketball all-time leader in games played with 134. She passed Candice Bellocchio (133, 2007-12) for the top spot in the program record book with a start against the Hawks.
 
Monmouth opened the game on a 6-0 run before two-pointers by Carter and LaNae' Corbett brought the Pride to within two. A five-point run by the Hawks gave them a seven-point lead with 2:31 left in the first quarter, but a mid-range jumper by Janaia Fargo sparked a quarter-ending 7-0 run – with five points coming from Von Essen – to end the low-scoring quarter with the score evened at 11.
 
After the Hawks pulled ahead by three at the start of the second quarter, Hofstra tied the game on a three by Sabrina Larsson at 8:18, and a crafty layup from Swint at 6:32 gave the Pride its first lead of the afternoon. Monmouth retook the lead at 3:57 on a 5-0 run before Larsson knocked down her second triple of the contest, but four straight Monmouth points gave the visitors a three-point lead with 3:05 left before halftime. A transition three from Gooden at 2:03 after a Swint layup put the Pride on top by two, and a fast break layup by Gooden put the home team ahead by four. On the final possession of the half, Gooden inbounded the ball to Swint under the basket, and the powerful graduate student center converted the layup just before the buzzer to give Hofstra a six-point lead at the break.
 
 The Pride's lead grew to eight at multiple points early in the third quarter before Monmouth rattled off five unanswered points to trail by just three at the 4:31 mark of the third quarter. A free throw by Ramatoulaye Keita and a pair of baskets from the charity stripe by Carter reestablished a six-point advantage for the Pride. Monmouth closed the gap to three points on a layup by Damaris Rodriguez and a free throw from Kemari Reynolds.
 
After Hofstra and Monmouth traded baskets on four consecutive possessions, Swint posted a layup to put the Pride lead back at eight points with 6:30 to go before the final buzzer. Carter knocked down a three-pointer at the 2:16 mark to put the difference back at eight after Monmouth whittled it down to a five-point Hofstra lead. Monmouth scored eight unanswered points in the span of 1:50, including the tying basket by Exanor with five seconds left in regulation, to even the score at 54-54 before Von Essen's heroics.
 
Exanor and Divine Dibula tied for the team-lead on the Hawks with 15 points scored each, and Dibula pulled down 10 rebounds.
 
Hofstra heads for Virginia for its next set of games as the regular season winds down, beginning on February 28 with a trip to Hampton. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. against the Pirates.
 
NOTES:
-Hofstra is now 7-10 all-time against Monmouth. This is the first time Hofstra has swept a CAA regular season series since winning both games against UNCW in the 2021-22 season.
-With three threes against Monmouth, Von Essen now has 195 for her career. She needs five more to become the fourth player in Hofstra women's basketball history with 200 career threes.
-With Monmouth shooting 2-14 from three-point range today, Hofstra has held the Hawks to a combined 5-29 (17.2%) from beyond the arc this season.
-Fargo's five assists against Monmouth ties her previous high of five set against Hampton on March 2, 2023, in a Hofstra uniform.
Print Friendly Version