Hofstra freshman Shante Evans showing why she is among CAA women's basketball elite

Picture Courtesy Hofstra Athletic Communications
Hofstra women’s basketball freshman forward Shante Evans is having a smash rookie season leading the Pride in both scoring (13.4 points per game) and rebounding (8.9 a game), and in normal circumstances would be a slam dunk for Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) rookie of the year. However Evans happens to be a freshman the same season as Delaware’s Elena Delle Donne, who had previously committed to national powerhouse Connecticut as the number one-rated recruit in the nation, and in her first season with the Blue Hens is averaging 25.8 points a game.

While winning CAA rookie of the year is unlikely for Evans given how dominant a force Delle Donne has been in Newark, Del., what is certain is that the 6’0 forward from West Chester, Pa. is one of the the biggest recruits ever landed by the Hofstra women’s basketball program. She was ranked the 54th best player in the class of 2009 as well as the ninth best forward by ESPN/HoopGurlz, and has been living up the hype so far in her short Hofstra career. Following a 28-point performance in a 73-58 win over UNC-Wilmington on Super Bowl Sunday, longtime Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Mel Greenberg wrote about how Evans has made an immediate impact on the Hofstra program in her freshman season.

Hofstra women's basketball offense wakes up in win over William & Mary

For the first 10:32 of Thursday night’s Hofstra-William & Mary women’s basketball game the Pride were shooting under 20 percent and only had six points but luckily for the Pride the visiting Tribe's shooting was not much better. After being able to withstand some early offensive woes, Hofstra found its shooting touch the remainder of the game to post a 68-51 victory for its third win in four games.

Thursday night’s win by Hofstra (10-8, 3-3 in the Colonial Athletic Association)  avenges a 55-48 loss at William & Mary 18 days ago in the conference opener where the Pride let a six point lead with 6:39 left slip away. In the rematch with the Tribe, Hofstra had three players in double-figures led by freshman power forward Shante Evans, who had her ninth career double-double with 18 points on 9-12 shooting and 18 rebounds. “

“[Evans] is just relentless,” said Hofstra women’s basketball head coach Krista Kilburn-Steveskey, who notched her 57th career victory Thursday to move into third place in the program’s all-time wins list in just her fourth season. “She is a special player because of so many attributes.”

Hofstra women's basketball freshman playing like a veteran

Courtesy Hofstra Athletic Communications

Not even a broken nose suffered against number-one ranked Connecticut on Nov. 27 could slow down freshman Shante Evans’s quick adjustment from playing girl’s high school basketball in suburban Philadelphia to Division I women’s college hoops. Since the pain she incurred at UConn, the 6’0 forward has pressed ahead with her stellar inside play despite having to wear a mask and through Hofstra’s first nine games leads the Pride in scoring and rebounding.

Thanks to the effort Evans has given in the paint, the Pride are off to a 6-3 start heading into its next game at home versus Stony Brook on Monday night at 7 p.m. In Hofstra’s last game at Manhattan a week ago, Evans scored a career high 22 points along with 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double of her young career to help lead the Pride to a 73-65 win.

"She’s the kind of the kid that is so unselfish but yet really competitive and has a lot of goals but she doesn’t let anything get to her head,” said Hofstra women’s basketball head coach Krista Kilburn-Steveskey of her star freshman, who is averaging 11.8 points per game and 7.2 rebounds per game. “She has the total package.”

Hofstra women's basketball pre-season practice update

With two and a half weeks until the Hofstra women’s basketball team jump starts its 2009/2010 season at home against Buffalo, head coach Krista Kilburn-Steveskey has a good problem on her hands trying to determine the best starting lineup to use since so many players have been stepping up to the challenge in pre-season practices.

“Can I start more than five,” joked Coach Kilburn-Steveskey after this morning’s two-hour practice of how it will be tough to decide who begins each game and who comes off the bench.

The main reason behind the uncertainty of who will comprise Hofstra’s starting lineup when the season tips off against Buffalo on Nov. 16 is the stellar play of freshman forward Shante Evans, who was ranked 54th best player in the class of 2009 and the ninth-best forward by ESPN/HoopGurlz. While Evans is used to playing the power forward position, Coach Kilburn-Steveskey is contemplating slotting the 6-0 West Chester, Pa. native in as a small forward to bolster the inside game for senior center Jess Fuller and 6’3 sophomore Joelle Connelly. Whether it is starting or coming off the bench as the sixth man, Evans will be a major focal point of the Pride offense. 

A freshman stepping up large on the defensive end has been guard Candace Bond. Kilburn-Steveskey noted that the 5’10 Bond has been playing hard-nosed defense in practice against veteran senior guard Sam Brigham, which will serve as positive preparation for both players in 2009/2010. “Candace Bond is going to probably be one of the best defenders that ever came through here,” said Kilburn-Steveskey “She is not backing down.”

Evans and Bond were apart of a recruiting class that ranked 41st in the nation by ESPN/HoopGurlz. However the third member of that heralded recruiting class Lindsey Watson, an Orlando, Fla. native, has left the team for personal reasons.