2008 Woodie Awards
Red Hawks Soar Over the Road Runners
Dillard, Defreitas, and Machin Register Double-Doubles in Conference WIn
Jose Ortiz
Issue date: 12/11/03 Section: Sports
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With just under eight minutes remaining in the Red Hawk's women basketball team's first home game against a conference opponent, senior guard Dyette Dillard snatched the ball from Ramapo sophomore guard Kelly Bartz. Dillard pushed the fast break, and dished it to point guard Vanessa DeFreitas, who threw a no look right back to Dillard for the easy lay up. At that point the Red Hawks were up 64 - 55 and they never looked back.
The Red Hawks won their sixth straight game and remain undefeated on the season. What makes this team so good is their unselfishness and willingness to give the ball to the right person at the right time. This was obvious as four players, none of whom were starters, scored in double figures.
The game started out sloppy for MSU, as the Road Runners jumped out to a quick 11-4 lead. The Red Hawks were rushing a lot of early shots, and missing from the outside. Coach Hoffman had seen enough and called a timeout sending in senior Defreitas to give some life to the team. The 5'5 guard was just what the doctor ordered. Vanessa Defreitas brought a spark to the Red Hawks who exploded with an 18 - 4 run following the timeout. Ramapo never led again.
In the first half the Red Hawks were able to dominate with remarkable ball movement, and an uncanny ability to create turnovers. In the opening half alone Ramapo turned the ball over 14 times which led to eight points. Not surprisingly Coach Hoffman took her team in to the locker room at halftime up by eight points with the score 36 - 28.
In the second half Red Hawks showed why they are still undefeated and may remain that way for some time. With Ramapo knocking on the door, pressuring MSU into two early turnovers, Pam Barone, Vanessa Defreitas, and especially Dyette Dillard took their team on their backs. Ramapo at one point brought the game to within four at 54 - 50, but that was as close as the victory would come for them.
A quick lay up by Shikeena Lynard, who had six points on the night, followed by one of Barone's five three point buckets, put the Hawks back up by nine. Dillard chipped in with a team high, and career high 21 points, 16 of which came in the second half against a Ramapo desperately trying to get back in the game.
The final score was 85 - 72 Red Hawks. Defreitas had 11 dimes to go along with her 11 points. Dillard had a double-double pulling down 11 boards, and freshman center Stephanie Machin added 13 points and rebounds in 30 minutes of play. The Red Hawks only turned the ball over four times in the second half as opposed to the Road Runners who had ten. That along with MSU's 24-10 assist lead, was the difference in the game. The Lady Hawks played a solid game in virtually every aspect. Coach Hoffman declined to comment on her team's performance after the game, but there was little need as MSU's game play on Wednesday night spoke volumes.
The Red Hawks won their sixth straight game and remain undefeated on the season. What makes this team so good is their unselfishness and willingness to give the ball to the right person at the right time. This was obvious as four players, none of whom were starters, scored in double figures.
The game started out sloppy for MSU, as the Road Runners jumped out to a quick 11-4 lead. The Red Hawks were rushing a lot of early shots, and missing from the outside. Coach Hoffman had seen enough and called a timeout sending in senior Defreitas to give some life to the team. The 5'5 guard was just what the doctor ordered. Vanessa Defreitas brought a spark to the Red Hawks who exploded with an 18 - 4 run following the timeout. Ramapo never led again.
In the first half the Red Hawks were able to dominate with remarkable ball movement, and an uncanny ability to create turnovers. In the opening half alone Ramapo turned the ball over 14 times which led to eight points. Not surprisingly Coach Hoffman took her team in to the locker room at halftime up by eight points with the score 36 - 28.
In the second half Red Hawks showed why they are still undefeated and may remain that way for some time. With Ramapo knocking on the door, pressuring MSU into two early turnovers, Pam Barone, Vanessa Defreitas, and especially Dyette Dillard took their team on their backs. Ramapo at one point brought the game to within four at 54 - 50, but that was as close as the victory would come for them.
A quick lay up by Shikeena Lynard, who had six points on the night, followed by one of Barone's five three point buckets, put the Hawks back up by nine. Dillard chipped in with a team high, and career high 21 points, 16 of which came in the second half against a Ramapo desperately trying to get back in the game.
The final score was 85 - 72 Red Hawks. Defreitas had 11 dimes to go along with her 11 points. Dillard had a double-double pulling down 11 boards, and freshman center Stephanie Machin added 13 points and rebounds in 30 minutes of play. The Red Hawks only turned the ball over four times in the second half as opposed to the Road Runners who had ten. That along with MSU's 24-10 assist lead, was the difference in the game. The Lady Hawks played a solid game in virtually every aspect. Coach Hoffman declined to comment on her team's performance after the game, but there was little need as MSU's game play on Wednesday night spoke volumes.