Senior forward Lana Harshaw (Wildwood, NJ) posted career-highs of 26 points and 12 rebounds and senior guard Cigi McCollin (Long Island City, NY) became Hofstra's all-time leading three-point shooter as the Hofstra Women's Basketball team won its eighth straight game with a 70-54 victory over Hartford at the Mack Sports Complex on Friday afternoon.

The career-high point total for Harshaw eclipsed her previous high of 21 against Old Dominion in March of 2005, while her 12 rebounds were one better than her previous high of 11 last established against then-#17 Michigan State on November 22.  The double-double by Harshaw today was her second of the season and eighth of her career.

For McCollin, her three three-pointers today give her 232 in her career breaking the school record of Jen Brickey, who played for the Pride from 1999-2003.

With the win, Hofstra improves to 9-1 on the season and establishes a new school record for the best 10-game start in the Pride's Division I history (since 1982-83).  The eight straight wins overall and the 10 straight wins at home are both current school records as well.  Hartford, the defending America East champions, falls to 7-5 with today's loss.

Neither team could get on track offensively in a low-scoring first half that saw the Pride take a 26-20 lead into the break.  A basket from Ikea Witt at the 13:43 mark gave Hartford an early 13-9 lead before Hofstra scored seven of the next nine points in the contest and lead 16-15 after a three-pointer from McCollin with 9:57 remaining before halftime.

After Lisa Etienne knotted the score at 16 just over a minute later, Hofstra would score six straight points to lead 22-16 with just under four and a half minutes left before the intermission.  Harshaw would score all the Pride's points during the run and she accounted for a team-high 11 points in the first twenty minutes.  After senior guard Jeanell Hughes (Baltimore, MD) gave Hofstra its largest lead of the half, 26-18, with 3:04 left, the Hawks would manage one final bucket in the final minutes of the half to cut the deficit to six points.

A three-pointer from senior forward Lizanne Murphy (Beaconsfield, Quebec, Canada) pushed Hofstra advantage up to eight, 29-21, just 21 seconds into the second stanza before Hartford made its first run of the second half as they scored eight straight points, culminating with a bucket from Kacey Pratt that knotted the score at 29. 

With Hofstra leading 50-39 following a lay-up from McCollin at the 8:16 mark, the Hawks battled back and eventually got within two, 52-50 at the 6:04 mark, with Lisa Etienne nailed one of her two three-pointers in the contest.  The two-time defending conference champions Hawks, which advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season, would be unable to get any closer the rest of the contest as the Pride closed the game on an 18-4 run over the final 5:37 of the contest.

Four of the five Pride starters reached double figures as Hofstra's starting five accounted for all 70 of its points this afternoon.  McCollin finished with 14 points and a game-high four assists, while Murphy added 13 and senior center Vanessa Gidden (Stamford, CT) chipped in with 11 points and seven rebounds.  Hofstra, which pulled down 16 offensive rebounds in the contest, out-rebounded the Hawks, 50-40.  The Pride got seven first half rebounds from sophomore forward Harmonie Calinda (Huntington, NY), who saw her first action as a member of the Pride after transferring mid-year in 2005-06 from Seton Hall University.

Witt led Hartford with 14 points and added a team-high tying six rebounds, while Etienne added 11 points. 

Hofstra returns to action a week from today, December 29, when they face the University of North Florida at 2 p.m.  The Pride will also meet up with Stetson University on the trip south, facing the Hatters at 2 p.m. on New Year's Eve.

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