HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – The William and Mary women's basketball team couldn't overcome its coldest shooting day during Colonial Athletic Association play, falling to Hofstra 52-46 in New York on Sunday afternoon. Sophomore Alexandra Masaquel finished with a team-high 14 points leading two players in double-figures. With the decision, the Tribe falls to 11-12, 5-7 in CAA play, while the Pride improve to 14-9, 7-5 in league play.
Masaquel added five rebounds, and two steals to go along with her 14 points. Freshman Abby Rendle had 10 points, five rebounds, four blocks, and one steal to round out the Tribe's double-figure scorers.
After Hofstra took a 4-0 lead, W&M used a 7-0 run to build its first lead of the game in the early stages of the first half. Masaquel scored the first four points of the run, before sophomore Marlena Tremba canned a triple to give the Tribe a 7-4 lead with 17:16 to go in the first half.
Trailing by four points, Hofstra used a 10-0 run to build its largest lead of the half at 22-16. Krystal Luciano started the run with a layup, followed by a pair of free throws from Kelly Loftus. Jakelle King-Gilchrist hit one from the line to regain the lead for the Pride, before Loftus scored the last five points to give the Pride a 22-16 lead with 5:11 left in the half.
W&M responded with the last four points of the half on a pair free throws from Tremba and a basket from senior Kyla Kerstetter. W&M, which shot just 25-percent (8-for-31) from the field in the half, was able to cut the lead to 24-22 at the break.
Trialing by five points, W&M used a 6-0 run to build a 28-27 lead with 17:45 to play in regulation. Senior Jazmen Boone opened the run with a layup, followed by four straight points from Rendle.
Hofstra stormed right back, and took a four point lead with 15:30 remaining. Loftus hit a free throw to spark the run, followed by a King-Gilchrist bucket, and a jumper from Elo Edferiko.
The Pride used an 8-0 run to win the game in the final three minutes of regulation. A jumper from Dee Thomas-Palmer gave the Pride the lead for good, before Anjie White hit a jumper to give Hofstra a 47-44 lead. Luciano got a steal and a layup to push the lead to five, and the Pride added free throws to pick up a 52-46 victory.
Tremba finished the game with seven points and six assists. Boone chipped in six points to go with a game-high 12 rebounds, six assists, a block, and three steals.
Again, W&M's defense played a key part in the game. For the 13th time this season, W&M forced more than 20 turnovers with 25. The Tribe had 10 steals, including three from Boone.
The Green and Gold, which shot its second-worst field goal percentage of the season, finished shooting just 29.4 percent (20-of-68). On the other side, Hofstra shot 39.1-percent (18-of-46) from the field.
White led the Pride with a game-high 17 points to go along with 12 rebounds. Loftus finished with 13 points, while Luciano finished with 11 points to round out the double-figure scorers.
The College returns home for the first time in 15 days when they welcome Delaware to Kaplan Arena on Friday, Feb. 13. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. The Tribe's two-game home stand concludes on Sunday, Feb. 15 when they host the College of Charleston. Tip of W&M's Pink Game is set for 2 p.m.
