Hofstra Defeats W&M, 64-51
Rob Washburn
Boxscore | Championship Central
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (March 13, 2015) – Sophomore forward Anjie White recorded a double-double with team-highs of 17 points and 12 rebounds and point guard Krystal Luciano added 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists to power third-seeded Hofstra past sixth-seeded William & Mary 64-51 in the final quarterfinal game of the CAA Women’s Basketball Championship on Friday night at the Show Place Arena.
The Pride (19-11) advances to the semifinals of the CAA Women’s Basketball Championship for the second time in three years and will face No. 7 Delaware at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. William & Mary ended its season with a 15-15 record.
White’s double-double was her fourth of the season and she also contributed four steals and two blocked shots. Luciano, who hit 3-of-6 from 3-point range, set a season-high for points and tied her career-best for rebounds. The Pride also got 12 points off the bench from CAA Rookie of the Year Ashunae Durant.
William & Mary sophomore guard Marlena Tremba poured in a team-best 17 points, with most of them coming on five three-pointers. Jazmen Boone scored 12 points for the Tribe and Alexandra Masaquel pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds.
Hofstra led 31-23 at the break and never let its advantage slip below nine points after out-scoring the Tribe 17-5 over the first eight minutes of the second half. The Pride took their largest lead, 48-28, on a three-pointer by Kelly Loftus with 11:58 remaining. White had a big second-half in the post, contributing 12 points and eight boards after intermission. W&M got as close as 60-51 with 1:07 to go on a Tremba trey, but Durant went 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the final 32 seconds to close out the win.
Hofstra was ahead for the majority of the first half, taking its largest lead, 17-8, on a White free throw with 10:48 remaining. W&M closed to within 19-18 on Tremba’s three-pointer from the right wing, but Luciano scored seven points over the final 2:16 of the period to send the Pride into halftime with a 31-23 advantage.
Hofstra shot 43.6% from the floor for the game and had a slight 42-40 edge on the glass. W&M made only 31.7% of its field goal attempts and was just 7-of-14 at the free throw line.