Box Score NORFOLK, Va. – Elo Edeferioka had game highs of 16 points and 15 rebounds, and Hofstra limited Norfolk State to 30.5 percent shooting in a 64-47 Pride victory on Sunday afternoon at Echols Hall.
The taller Pride (2-2) outscored NSU (0-4) 36-18 in the paint and used a stingy zone defense to keep the Spartans winless on the year.
NSU led just once on the afternoon as sophomore guard
Dominique Harper scored the game's first points on a baseline jumper 46 seconds into the contest. Hofstra scored the next nine points, four by Edeferioka and three by Krystal Luciano, to take control.Â
The Pride led by as many as 10 points in the first half, on two separate occasions. Dee Thomas-Palmer scored inside to give Hofstra a 27-17 lead with 3:05 left in the half. But the Spartans got jumpers from
Io Chaney and
Brehanna Daniels, plus a traditional three-point play by
Amber Brown, to get within 30-26 at the half.
The Spartans kept drawing closer out of the halftime break. Two
Rae Corbo free throws and a put-back by
Ronesia Spicer brought NSU within 37-36 with 12:42 left to play. But Thomas-Palmer scored inside at the other end, and after an NSU miss, Kelly Loftus scored on a layup to push the Pride's lead back to five, at 41-36. The Spartans couldn't get closer than four the rest of the way. Hofstra outscored NSU 19-7 over the game's final 10 minutes to pull away.
NSU shot just 18-of-59 for the game and 6-of-27 (22 percent) in the second half. For the second straight game, the Spartans failed to make a 3-pointer, missing all nine of their attempts. NSU was 0-of-14 behind the arc Thursday night at Radford.
Corbo and
Aivah Parham led NSU with nine points apiece. Daniels had a season-high eight. Corbo grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and
Kayla Roberts added six. Corbo also tallied four assists and four steals.
Loftus added 15 points and made three 3-pointers for Hofstra.
The Spartans return to action next weekend in the Teresa Phillips Thanksgiving Classic hosted by Tennessee State in Nashville, Tenn. NSU plays host Tennessee State on Saturday, then Nicholls State next Sunday.
