Story By Mike Browning
Photos By Hofstra Athletics Hofstra Women�s Basketball Head Coach
Krista Kilburn-Steveskey expected to be in WKLV SRVLWLRQ )URP KHU � UVW GD\ WDNLQJ FRP
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VHW WKH WRQH WKLV VHDVRQ E\ GHWKURQLQJ 6W John�s as the area�s premier women�s bas-
ketball team in November and upset a Kan-
sas State team that went on to defeat sixth-
ranked Texas A&M.
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ranked Texas A&M.
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created with their de-
cisive win over St.
John�s in $V H[SHFWHG WKH WDOHQW arrived. The Pride have ar- JXDEO\ WKH PRVW KLJKSUR
� OH URVWHU LQ WKH SURJUDP�V
KLVWRU\ KHDGOLQHG E\ DOO world junior forward
Shante Evans and
supported by sharp
The team is well-
stocked with stars that will UHWXUQ QH[W VHDVRQ EXW OHG E\ battle-tested and ambitious vet- HUDQV ZKR SOD\HG D ODUJH SDUW LQ
EXLOGLQJ WKH SURJUDP XQGHU .LOEXUQ
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ZKHUH SHUVRQDOO\ DV D FRDFK ,�P NLQG RI committed to [seniors] Candice Bellocchio backs. Injuries to key players�leading
scorer Katelyn Loper did not play in losses
against Old Dominion and Virginia Com-
monwealth due to a concussion�periodic
defensive lapses and offensive slumps cost
them a few games, and ultimately their goal RI � QLVKLQJ WKH UHJXODUVHDVRQ DWRS WKH &$$ �Obviously we thought we wanted to be
[seeded]up there, one, two�
one is where we wanted to be;
we knew it would be a pretty
big task as good as Delaware
was going to be this year,� Kilburn-Steves- NH\ VDLG �%XW FHUWDLQO\ WKLV \HDU ZDVQ�W � Q
LVK LQ WKH WRS ZH ZDQWHG WR � QLVK LQ WKH top 3, so we�ve got one more little milestone,
one more little step here before we get to that
point.� $OWKRXJK XQDEOH WR DWWDLQ WKH �OLWWOH� JRDO set forth by their coach, dropping the season � QDOH WR1RUWKHDVWHUQ DQG IDOOLQJ WR WKH &$$ WKXV UHOLQTXLVKLQJ WKH VHHG in the tournament, the team was able to ac-
complish a much larger goal; one set forth by
the University before Kilburn- Steveskey set
foot on campus: becoming a threat.
For the program�one that once fought to VWD\ D� RDW LQ WKH &$$ DQG UHOHYDQW QRW RQO\
RQ WKH 1DWLRQDO VFHQH EXW LQ WKH FRPPXQLW\ and even on campus, settling for
the four seed in the conference
tournament and being in a good SRVLWLRQ WR JHW D EHUWK LQ WKH 1D tional tournament is a good problem to have.
�It would be great,� Bellocchio said about
getting a berth. �I mean coach [Kilburn-Ste-
veskey], ever since she�s been here, has had
the mindset that we�re going to get to an elite
program, and we�re going to build Hofstra
and bring it to the top mid-major, and she�s
really done that.�
Kilburn-Steveskey expects her team to 39
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