Lady Seahawks drop third straight game vs. Hofstra, 66-54

Lady Seahawks drop third straight game vs. Hofstra, 66-54

Brandon Sans, Staff Writer

Any good feelings that may have surfaced when the UNC Wilmington women’s basketball team won three of four games just three weeks ago have all but evaporated. UNCW (9-17, 4-11 CAA) lost 66-54 to Hofstra on Sunday afternoon, taking the Pride’s place as Colonial Athletic Association basement dwellers.

The Pride (11-15, 4-11) was led by senior Krystal Luciano, who registered the first triple-double in program history. Luciano scored 21 points, collected 10 rebounds and 10 assists against the Seahawks.

“I thought Krystal carried the game for them,” said UNCW coach Adell Harris. “She was the best player on the floor and that’s one of the main reasons why they were able to get the win.”

Eight defensive rebounds by Luciano translated to assists and points for Hofstra. The Seahawks were outscored 16-5 on fastbreak points.

UNCW did a poor job in all phases of the game plan which included out-rebounding Hofstra, defending the arc, and keep UNCW’s transition defense to prevent Luciano from leading the fast-break outburst she ended up commanding.

“I’m just really disappointed in some things we did today that we talked about,” said Harris.

The Seahawks were outrebounded 40-31 and allowed Hofstra to claim a 26-18 first quarter lead courtesy of the Pride shooting 4-of-5 from three-point range. Still, UNCW battled throughout the game. It was only outscored by four points after three quarters which came due to late-game fouling from the Seahawks.

“We’ll regroup Tuesday because we are an important part of our season,” said Harris. “Regardless of who else knows it, it’s important to us”

Redshirt senior Jasmine Steele led UNCW with 16 points and seven assists. Outside of Steele, the Seahawks only managed two assists on the day.

“We have to have better guard play. Jasmine can’t be the only one making plays and making the right decision with the basketball,” said Harris.

The Seahawks travel to William and Mary on Friday for a 7 p.m. game before they return to play their final home game next Sunday against Northeastern.