Second-half win for women's basketball

Like an automobile left out in 30 degree weather, the women's basketball team was slow to get started.

But after getting pushed around in the first half, the women's basketball team put up a remarkable 58 points in the second half to come back and tally an 89-71 win over Hofstra at Jadwin Gym.

The Tiger defense was the key factor in the turnaround, holding Hofstra to shooting 39 percent from the field in the second half after the Pride shot a remarkable 70 percent in the first half.

At the outset, Hofstra had the upper hand on the Tigers, and jumped out to a 10 point lead within the first four minutes. Hofstra's lead reached as high as 13, five minutes later, before the Tigers began to chip away at the deficit.

With the Tigers down 33-22, senior forward Maureen Lane sunk a three to bring the score to 33-25. Junior forward Kelly Schaeffer registered a block on the next play, and took the jump shot on the other side of the court. The shot missed, but Lane came up with the offensive rebound, and scored, bringing the Tigers to within six.

Both teams would score twice more before the half was over. Despite only shooting 37 percent from the field at the end of the first half, the Tigers were only down by six points, and had started to gain momentum.

After the half, the Tigers woke up and played with newfound confidence.

Senior guard Allison Cahill scored first in the second half, right before Hofstra's own five foot, five inch wonder, Jen Brickey answered back with a three-pointer.

The Tigers quickly responded, as sophomore guard Karen Bolster tallied a three pointer. A couple of plays later, Lane hit a three pointer to bring the Tigers within one point, with the score at 42-41.

Hofstra took a time out, and managed to score on the next play. Lane, however, then hit another three, tying the game at 44 apiece.

At this point, the Tigers never looked back, going on to achieve a nine-point lead at 60-51, largely thanks to two Cahill three-pointers. In the second half, the Tigers shot an impressive 9-for-12 from beyond the arc, a huge improvement from going 2-for-13 in the first half.

"Our defense picked up intensity in the second half," Lane said. "We were able to settle in a little bit better because of our improved defense, which in turn gave us more confidence on offense."

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With four minutes, 30 seconds left in the game, Schaeffer converted two back-to-back three-point plays for the Tigers, scoring and getting fouled on short shots from the right side.

Cahill added two more three-pointers before the Tigers finished their comeback victory with the score of 89-71. The Tigers' record stands even at 4-4 on the year.

Schaeffer led the Tigers in scoring with 23 points. Cahill put up 20 points, going 4-for-6 from three-point range.

The Tigers travel to Colorado this weekend to play in the Pioneer Classic. The Tigers will have to work like the fine-tuned machine of the second half during the tournament, regardless of the temperature outside.