Upper Marlboro, MD – Sophomore guard Andreana Thomas had 15 points and senior forward Candace Bond added nine points, nine rebounds and three blocks as the Hofstra Women's Basketball team advanced to the semifinals of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championship with a 57-52 victory over Northeastern on Friday afternoon at The Show Place Arena.
Hofstra advances to the semifinals for the first time since 2007.
Hofstra also got a solid game out of senior forward Deven Green, who posted 11 points and four rebounds in the game. Senior forward Shante Evans, who was saddled with foul trouble for the majority of the first half, finished with a team-high 11 rebounds and added six points.
Fifth-seeded Hofstra improved to 14-16 with the win, while Northeastern falls to 17-13 with the loss. The win by the Pride avenged two losses to the Huskies this season, including an 88-81 defeat in the regular season finale on March 6.
Hofstra moves on to face top-seeded and No. 15 ranked Delaware on Saturday in the semifinals at 2 p.m. That game will air live in the New York area on Verizon FioS1 (Long Island). It will also air on Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic +, The Comcast Network (Philadelphia), Comcast SportsNet-New England and Charter Sports Southeast.
Hofstra would get on the board first in the contest as junior guard Annie Payton drained a long three-pointer from in front of the Northeastern bench to give the Pride a 3-0 advantage just 28 seconds into the game.
Northeastern would then go on a 12-0 scoring run over the next six-plus minutes to lead 12-3 at the 13:42 mark after a A'lece Mark basket with 13:42 on the clock.
A pair of free throws from Thomas would end the drought and kick-start an 8-3 run for the Pride to allow Hofstra to close to within 15-11 with 11:15 left in the first half following a jumper from Green.
The Huskies would eventually take a 29-22 lead into the locker rooms as they didn't allow their lead to go under three points. Northeastern took its largest lead of nine points on a pair of occasions, the last with one minute left before Green ended the first half scoring with a layup with 36 seconds remaining. Green was very active for Hofstra in the opening 20 minutes as she led Hofstra with seven points and three rebounds.
Hofstra would battle all the way back in the opening minutes of the second stanza as the Pride used a 16-5 run to take a 38-34 lead on a pair of free throws from Evans with 13:46 to play in regulation. That basket came on the heels of a jumper from Bond that knotted the score at 34 with 15:54 remaining.
After the Huskies got six straight points from Jewel Tunstull to even the score at 40, Hofstra once again jumped out in front as Thomas drained a three-pointer from in front of the Hofstra bench with 10:40 to play and she was followed by a great steal and lay-in from freshman guard Asia Jackson to push the lead to 45-40. Freshman guard Alexis Carter then made it 47-40 Hofstra as she scored with 8:29 left.
Hofstra would hold a narrow 51-49 lead with under three minutes left before Evans gave the Pride some much needed breathing room with a basket with 1:39 left in regulation, pushing the lead to 53-49.
Free throws down the stretch would seal the game for Hofstra as they advanced to the semifinals with a 57-52 win over Northeastern.
Jackson was stellar on defense for Hofstra as she tied her season-high with seven steals, while also adding six points.
Tunstull led Northeastern with 12 points and a game-high 17 rebounds, while Mark had 12 points, five rebounds and five assists.
