Hofstra Basketball Teams Selected
for National Invitation Tournament

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The Hofstra men’s basketball team made its third consecutive appearance in the Postseason National Invitation Tournament (NIT) and traveled to DePaul for an opening round West Region game on March 14. The Pride lost, 83-71, in a game that was much closer than the final score indicated. The loss ended Hofstra’s season at 22-10. It also marked the final game for two of the finest players to suit up for the Pride – Loren Stokes and Carlos Rivera. Stokes ends his career as the second all-time leading scorer in school history with 2,148 points, the highest total for any player in the school's Division I era. He also finished fifth in career assists, fifth in steals, and 15th in rebounding, despite playing guard. Rivera finished his tenure 18th on the career-scoring list with 1,225 points, second in three-pointers, seventh in assists and ninth in steals.

This was Hofstra’s fourth all-time appearance in the Postseason NIT and its eighth Division I postseason appearance overall, including four NCAA bids (1976, 1977, 2000, 2001). The Pride picked up the first Division I postseason wins in school history last year, when it reached the NIT quarterfinals with wins over Nebraska (73-62) and Saint Joseph’s (77-75, OT), before finally falling to CAA rival Old Dominion (61-51). Hofstra also played Saint Joseph’s in the 2005 NIT, when it lost, 53-44.

The Hofstra women’s basketball team continued its magical 2006-07 season as it was awarded an automatic bid to the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). The postseason bid is the second in school history, following last season’s WNIT appearance. Hofstra received a bye into the second round and hosted Seton Hall on March 17. The Pride prevailed, 64-52, and advanced to a third round meeting at South Carolina, which it won, 64-59, to advance to the quarterfinals at Western Kentucky. The Pride saw its run come to an end against the Lady Toppers, 72-54, to end the season with a 26-8 record. Hofstra’s 26 overall wins, 13 conference wins, 13 road victories and 12 home wins this past season are all school records (Division I only).

The loss ended the stellar careers of four Pride players – Cigi McCollin, Lizanne Murphy, Vanessa Gidden and Lana Harshaw. McCollin finished her career fourth in career scoring with 1,662 points and first in career three-pointers with 291. Murphy finished with 1,245 points and 988 rebounds, falling 12 rebounds shy of becoming just the second player with 1,000 points and rebounds. She ranks second in Hofstra history in rebounding and 12th in scoring. Gidden left her mark in several areas as well, as she finished sixth in career scoring with 1,489 points, fourth in rebounding with 911 and first in blocks with 175. Harshaw concluded her career with 909 points and 580 rebounds.