Williamsburg, VA – The Hofstra women's basketball team put up one of its strongest defensive performances in program history against William & Mary, holding the Tribe to under 40 points in a 54-34 victory from Kaplan Arena.
With its third consecutive win, Hofstra improves to 12-15 overall and 7-9 in the Coastal Athletic Association. Meanwhile, William & Mary falls to 11-16 overall and 8-8 against conference competition.
Sunday's win marks the first time Hofstra held a Division I opponent to under 40 points since December 4, 2019, with 39 points by Morgan State. Additionally, the 34 points allowed by the Pride are the fewest allowed to a Division I opponent since holding St. John's to only 34 points on November 23, 2001, and it's the fewest points scored by a CAA opponent against the Pride in program history, topping the previous low of 38 points on February 19, 2016, by UNCW.
Zyheima Swint recorded her fifth double-double this season with 11 points and 13 rebounds to lead all players in both categories.
Alarice Gooden also had a fantastic showing against the Tribe, scoring 10 points and pulling down eight rebounds while dishing out a team-leading two assists.
After a low-scoring 8-7 first quarter in favor of William & Mary, a long jumper from
Micaela Carter gave the Pride a 9-8 lead 31 seconds into the start of the second quarter. Carter's jumper sparked a 9-1 run that put the Pride ahead by seven, with points by Swint, Gooden,
Emma Von Essen, and
Ramatoulaye Keita over the 2:45 stretch. The Tribe scored on back-to-back possessions to cut Hofstra's lead to three, but
Kassidy Thompson came off the bench and scored four points in a minute to put the Pride's lead back at seven, and Hofstra scored six of the final nine points of the quarter to put the score at 26-16 going into the break.
Von Essen gave Hofstra a 12-point lead with an early bucket in the third quarter, but William & Mary countered with an 8-0 run to cut Hofstra's advantage to four points with 7:02 left in the quarter. After the layup by Anahi-Lee Cauley put the score at 28-24, the Hofstra defense clamped down and kept the Tribe scoreless for the remainder of the third quarter while scoring 13 unanswered points to take a commanding 41-24 lead. Gooden contributed five of those 13 points, while Carter scored four during the run, and Keita and
Janaia Fargo all scored to give the Pride a big lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The Pride's lead never went below 17 points in the fourth quarter as Hofstra outscored William & Mary 13-10 in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
Cauley finished with nine points to lead William & Mary in scoring, and Kayla Rolph led the Tribe with eight rebounds.
Hofstra returns to the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex for its final two games of the regular season, beginning on Thursday, March 6, against Stony Brook. Tip-off against the Seawolves is scheduled for 6 p.m., and the game will air on MSG Network and FloCollege.
NOTES:
-Hofstra improves to 14-19 all-time against William & Mary. This is the Pride's first win at the Kaplan Center since January 3, 2021.
-Three of Swint's 14 career double-doubles have come against William & Mary.
-Hofstra outrebounded William & Mary, 45-33.
-The Pride allowed a season-low 14 field goals against the Tribe.
