Women's Basketball Falls At Hofstra, 79-63

Schiel Scores Career-High 21 Points; Sinks Six Three-Point Field Goals

02/06/05 10:57PM

HEMPSTEAD, NY - Hofstra sophomore forward Vanessa Gidden fell one block short of a triple-double with 17 points, 19 rebounds and nine blocks as the Pride pulled away for a 79-63 win over William & Mary on Sunday afternoon at Hofstra Arena.

With the win, the Pride improves to 11-9 overall and 6-5 in conference play, while also picking up its second victory in a row. The two straight wins ends a remarkable streak for Hofstra of 13 straight games of alternating wins and losses, dating back to consecutive wins on Dec. 11 and 17. The Tribe, meanwhile, slips to 4-16 overall and 2-9 in CAA play.


Gidden's 19 rebounds were a career-high and represents the fifth-highest single-game rebounding total in school history. The nine blocked shots were also a career high for Gidden, who established Hofstra's single-season blocks record with 53 this season, surpassing the old record of 50 set by Lisa Harris in 1999-2000. Gidden came close to Hofstra's first triple-double twice, but had two blocked shots nullified by personal fouls late in the game.


Sophomore forward Lizanne Murphy also chipped in with 19 points and 13 rebounds, her CAA-leading 11th double-double of the season. The Tribe's Lizzie Schiel (Wayne, PA), meanwhile, sank six three-pointers, the second highest total in school history, and scored a career-high 21 points, while Devin James (Pipersville, PA) came off the bench to tally a career-best 14 rebounds (10 offensive). Kyle DeHaven (Herndon, VA) also nearly had a triple-double of her own for the Tribe with 10 points, nine rebounds, nine assists and four steals.


Hofstra used a 14-0 first-half run to take a 34-23 lead on two foul shots from freshman forward Linn Quamme. The Pride took a 41-28 lead into halftime, and then had to hold off the Tribe throughout the second half. The College got the lead down to seven points at 43-36 with 18:01 left on a jumper by Mindy Carter (Bristol, TN), then pulled within 59-53 with 6:06 left on a foul shot by Lindsey Brizendine (West Point, VA). However, Murphy converted two lay-ups around a pair of foul shots from Gidden to stretch the lead back up to 65-53 with 5:14 left, and the Tribe was unable to threaten again.


Hofstra held a 58-44 edge in the rebounding department, and held William & Mary to only 28.0 percent shooting (21-75) for the game. The Pride also shot 24-38 from the free throw line, compared to 11-19 for the Tribe.

W&M is back in action Friday when it hosts George Mason at 7:00 p.m.

Box Score