Williamsburg, VA (Jan. 23) - Rume Pela (13 points, 10 rebounds) and Amaka Agugua (12 points, 12 rebounds) each had double-doubles, but William & Mary was able to hold off Hofstra for a 59-53 win on Thursday evening in Williamsburg.
The loss drops the Pride's record to 4-11 on the season, including 1-5 in the Colonial Athletic Association, while William & Mary sees its record improve to 5-10 overall and 1-5 in league play.
The Pride trailed by 11 points at 52-41 with 3:31 remaining on a free throw from the Tribe's Lindsey Brizendine. However, Hofstra then proceded to go on a 9-0 run to cut the lead down to two at 52-50 with 2:34 remaining. Two Agugua free throws started the run, and a lay-up from Pela pulled Hofstra within 52-45. After an Agugua steal, senior guard Jen Brickey hit a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to five points. After William & Mary missed the front end of a one-on-one, Pela went back to the line and made the first. She then missed the second, but Agugua got the offensive rebound and Brickey followed with a lay-up to pull Hofstra within 52-50.
A missed one-and-one a turnover from William & Mary gave Hofstra two chances to tie or take the lead, but the Pride was unable to convert. Jen Sobota then made two free throws with 46 seconds left to extend the lead to 54-50, and Hofstra once again came up empty on the offensive end on the ensuing possession, enabling the Tribe to put the game away with four more free throws.
Hofstra surged out to an early 14-7 lead on a jumper from Pela at the 13:52 mark of the first half. However, William & Mary's Megan Baier hit back-to-back three-pointers to bring her team back within a single point. The Tribe then seized the momentum and led by as many as nine points at 33-24 with 3:10 left in the first half before Hofstra scored the final four points of the opening stanza to pull within 33-28.
The second half resulted in a defensive stalemate as neither team was able to get any scoring going. In fact, the two teams scored a combined 13 points (eight by the Tribe) in the first 12 minutes of the second half with William & Mary emerging from the drought with a 41-33 lead with 8:00 to play.
Brickey led Hofstra with 15 points in the loss, tying for game-high honors with the Tribe's Lindsey Brizendine. Baier and Kia Butts each had 12 points for William & Mary, which shot just 38.2 percent for the game, but held Hofstra to only 36.7 percent at the other end.
Hofstra will next be in action when it takes on Old Dominion on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Norfolk.
