CANCUN, Mexico – K-State received the third double-double of Jalana Childs’ career and the third double figure scoring effort of the season from Tasha Dickey, but Hofstra used a balanced attack to send the Wildcats to their first loss of the season on Thursday afternoon, 64-54, in the Cancun Challenge at the Moon Palace Resort.
The Wildcats (3-1) were paced by Childs who finished with a game-high 20 points and 11 rebounds for her third career double-double and her first since Jan. 9, 2011 against Oklahoma State. Playing in her 101st career game, Childs registered her 38th career double figure scoring performance and her fourth career double figure rebounding effort.
Joining Childs in double digits was Dickey with 15 points. The senior from Sandy, Utah completed her stat line with six rebounds and three steals.
The Pride (3-1) was led by preseason All-CAA first team selection Shante Evans with 19 points and seven rebounds. Also in double figures for Hofstra was Katelyn Loper, who was held 10 points below her season average, with 10 points on Thursday afternoon.
K-State jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead on the Pride, as Dickey, Brittany Chambers and Mariah White all recorded layups to force a Hofstra timeout with 18:09 to play in the opening half. From this point until the halftime buzzer, Hofstra piled up a 30-10 run to take a 30-16 advantage into the locker room.
The Wildcats were able to cut the deficit to five, 45-40, with 10:41 to play on a layup by Dickey and force a Hofstra timeout. Following a pair of empty possessions by the Wildcats, Loper bumped the Pride lead back to eight, 48-40, with her second and final 3-point field goal of the night. From this point on, K-State was only able to cut the deficit to six on a White layup with 2:03 to play.
Hofstra, who entered the contest averaging 90.3 points per game and a field goal percentage of .479, finished shooting .411 from the field. The Wildcats were held to a field goal percentage of .328 while shooting 2-of-17 from beyond the arc.
K-State will conclude action at the Cancun Challenge on Friday night, as the Wildcats will face No. 15/16 Purdue at 9 p.m., at the Moon Palace Resort. The matchup with the Boilermakers will be a rematch of the 2011 NCAA Tournament first round contest between the schools.
