Junior center Jess Fuller had her ninth double-double of the season with 12 points, 11 rebounds and six blocks to lead the Hofstra Women's Basketball team to a 66-51 upset of 17-time defending Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) champion Old Dominion on Thursday afternoon at the Mack Sports Complex.  Junior guard Sam Brigham added 12 points in the game, including nine in a decisive second half in which the Pride outscored the Lady Monarchs, 40-27.

The win improved Hofstra's overall record this season to 15-10 and evened their CAA mark at 7-7.  Old Dominion slipped to 14-10 and 9-5 in conference action.  The win by the Pride ended an 11-game losing streak to ODU dating back to January 18, 2004 when Hofstra stunned the Lady Monarchs at the then-Hofstra Arena by the score of 74-72.

Hofstra handed Old Dominion just its 22nd loss all-time (since 1991-92) in CAA regular season and tournament play.  The Lady Monarchs are now 270-22 in regular season CAA play and 50-0 in CAA Tournament action.

The win came on "Family Fun Day" at the Mack Sports Complex and a season-high of 1,434 fans were in attendance to see the victory by the Pride.

Hofstra would rally from as much as a seven-point first half deficit and eventually take a 26-24 lead into the break.  The Lady Monarchs opened an 11-4 lead after nearly five minutes of action as Tiffany Green scored five early points for Old Dominion.  Hofstra would gradually chip away at the ODU lead and would knot the score at 14 on a jumper from Fuller with 9:53 left in the first half to make it 14-all. 

Back-to-back baskets from Jasmine Parker and Jessica Canady would put Old Dominion back up 18-14 but two free throws from sophomore guard Aamira Terry would kick-start a 7-0 Pride run that allowed Hofstra to take a 21-18 advantage with 5:01 to play in the opening stanza.  A three-pointer from senior guard Natty Fripp put the Pride up 19-18 before a layup from senior guard Niki Williams pushed the lead up to three points.

A layup from Green 22 seconds into the second half would tie the game at 26 before the Pride retook the lead with four quick points; including buckets from Terry and freshman forward Joelle Connelly.  The lead would hover around four for a large portion of the second half until Hofstra expanded its lead to six with 11:05 remaining in regulation when Brigham put Hofstra up 42-36.  A three-pointer from Fripp with 7:38 to play would give Hofstra its largest lead of the contest up to that point at 49-41, before Old Dominion showed its championship pedigree and scored five straight points to close the gap to 49-46 after a jumper from Canady with 6:15 left.

With Hofstra up 53-47 after a free throw from Green of Old Dominion, Williams would hit a huge driving layup and convert and old-fashioned three-point play to give Hofstra a commanding 56-47 lead with under four minutes left in regulation.

A three-pointer from Shadasia Green with 2:29 to play would get Old Dominion within 58-50, but Hofstra hit five free throws in the final 1:44 of the contest and Fripp nailed a three-pointer with 1:01 left to assist the Pride in the 15-point victory over the Lady Monarchs.

Fuller and Brigham were joined in double figures by Fripp (team-high 14 points), Williams (11 points) and Connelly (10 points).  Williams added seven rebounds and six assists in the game, while Fripp chipped in with six rebounds and four assists.  Terry made the first start of her career for the Pride this afternoon and assisted in the winning effort with five points and seven rebounds. 

Old Dominion, which shot just 29.4% (20-68) from the field in the game, was led by Shadasia Green's 14 points and Canady's 12 points and game-high 14 rebounds. 

Hofstra returns to the Mack Sports Complex court on Sunday when they host CAA-leading Virginia Commonwealth at 2 p.m.  The Rams are currently 21-4 and 11-2 in conference play heading into their game against Georgia State this evening.

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