It would be tough imagining a worse season for the Hofstra Women’s Basketball team than 2019-20. The Pride failed at picking up a single win in conference action and finished 3-27 overall, eclipsing their 3-25 record in 1989-90 as the worst single-season record.
Although her first season as head coach was mostly disappointing, Danielle Santos-Atkinson is eager turning her next season into one of success. Santos-Atkinson discussed what is next for her team with WRHU Radio on Sunday, June 28.
“[We’re] working on our chemistry and building on team camaraderie and getting to know each other on a deeper level,” Santos-Atkinson said. “[We are] working on leadership within the team and with the entire team. We’ve been meeting daily with each other — they have been meeting regularly with each other unprompted– just them wanting to be better as a team.”
One of the few bright spots last season was the growth from redshirt-junior forward Jaylen Hines. The forward improved from scoring four points per contest in 2018-19 to being the lone Hofstra player averaging double-digits in scoring. The forward led the team with 33 steals, finished third in the CAA shooting 50 percent and fourth grabbing nearly nine rebounds per game.
“One of the things you saw in her was her confidence grow. One of the things that really helped her improve was her confidence. Throughout the season you can see how much more confident she was on her game and how confident in her role of producing for us. I said multiple times last year Jaylen was a double-double player and that’s the type of player she is, she had to believe that.”
The team has dealt with a significant overturn of experience this offseason. Hofstra lost six players to graduation this spring, including last year’s field-goal percentage leader Mikiyah Croskey and the top two 3-point shooters Ana Gil-Hernandez and Sandra Karsten.
“They brought a lot of consistency and a tremendous work ethic every single day. We could always rely on those guys every practice and every game. They knew their roles and were comfortable with their roles and I think that consistency is what we are going to miss with them leaving.”
The team added four recruits with varying experiences as a result.
“Off the court, one of the things we are always going to look for is players of high character. We wanted to bring in a mixture of freshmen with some transfers. With such a large class, we wanted to make sure we had some experience coming in. I think we did a great job bringing in a class that meets our needs and fills in the gaps that we have next year.”
Guards Rosi Nicholson and Jada Peacock will enter the program with two collegiate-seasons under their belts. Coach Santos-Atkinson is confident the duo, who may be the team’s starting guards on opening night, will make an immediate impact.
“Rosie is a high energy and very active player. She plays 94-feet at a level and intensity that is really going to drive opponents crazy. Jada is another one that is an athletic player that will raise our athleticism. You talk to her you she gets excited and juiced talking about defense so she will help us there. [Both] can play in multiple positions.”
There may not be many changes to the Hofstra team’s schedule, even with the unpredictability brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Coach Santos-Atkinson revealed most games would be against ‘local’ opponents similar to last year. The Pride played 19 games spread across Connecticut, New Jersey and New York last season, including seven road contests.
“Our schedule was set. We are not doing a lot of traveling this year, we are staying local with a lot of what we saw last year. We are moving forward and hopeful with the schedule we have so fingers crossed we’ll be able to play.”
While every team’s goal is to win the championship, the Hofstra coach says her mission is establishing a long-term foundation of success.
“We are building a foundation that is going to sustain. We can have successful seasons but ultimately for us, we want to build a successful program. We said it many times last year, ‘the win-loss column didn’t reflect the wins we had this season.'”
All quotes attributed to WRHU Sports and WRHU Radio
