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Hofstra University Athletics

THE PRIDE OF LONG ISLAND
THE PRIDE OF LONG ISLAND
Ashunae Durant
Ashunae Durant scored a season-high 20 points
62
Winner Hofstra HOFSTRA 6-3
47
NJIT NJIT 5-5
Winner
Hofstra HOFSTRA
6-3
62
Final
47
NJIT NJIT
5-5
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Hofstra HOFSTRA 32 30 62
NJIT NJIT 14 33 47

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | By Brian Bohl

WBB: Hofstra Extends Winning Streak With Road Victory Over NJIT

By Brian Bohl

Newark, N.J. –  Freshman Ashunae Durant scored a season-high 20 points in front of her hometown fans and sophomore Kelly Loftus continue her torrid three-point shooting to notch 15 points to propel Hofstra to a 62-47 victory over NJIT and in a non-conference matchup Tuesday evening at the Fleisher Athletic Center.

Hofstra extended its winning streak to three games and posted its second consecutive wire-to-wire victory in improving to 6-3 on the season. The Pride has won five of the last six games with all three victories in the streak coming by double digits.

Junior guard Darius Faulk compiled 10 assists in 32 minutes in becoming the first Hofstra player to reach double digits in that category since Andreana Thomas also had 10 helpers against Virginia Tech on Nov. 23, 2013.

The Pride improved to 3-0 all-time against NJIT and won the meeting for a second consecutive season. Martina Matejcikova led the Highlanders with 19 points, though NJIT fell to 5-5.

Durant, a Newark product who starred for Bloomfield Tech, scored 12 points in 15 minutes in the opening half to stake Hofstra to a 32-14 lead at the break. In front of family and friends, she shot 7-for-9 from the field to finish in double figures for the sixth time in her first nine collegiate games.

One day prior, Durant earned her second Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of the Week award and finished with a stat line of nine rebounds, two steals and one block. Her previous high in points was 16 set against Fairfield on Nov. 18.

Loftus was 5-for-7 on three-pointers and has made 16 three-pointers in her last three games and has not made fewer than four in any single game during the team's winning streak. Loftus has scored 55 combined points in the last three contests.

A 7-0 run to begin the game put Hofstra in command of the tempo. Loftus, who was named the CAA Player of the Week on Monday, helped the Pride sustain momentum by knocking down her first three three-point attempts. After having a sneaker fall off while on defense, Loftus still made a left-wing three-point bank shot.

On the next offensive possession, she had the benefit of a full set of footwear and drained another three-pointer. The efficient outside shooting, combined with a Hofstra press that helped force 11 turnovers through the first 8:30, helped stake the Pride to a 19-3 lead.

Hofstra was coming off a 20-point win over defending-NEC champion Robert Morris in which the Pride never trailed. The trend continued thanks to a fast start as Durant and Loftus combined for 21 of Hofstra's 32 points in the first half, with Durant nearly matching NJIT's 14 points in the first half by herself.

The Pride held NJIT to 20.8 percent field goal shooting in the opening half with the Highlanders connecting on just 5-of-24 field goals.

NJIT moved as close as 15 in the second half on Matejcikova's layup with 15:13 left to cut Hofstra's lead to 39-24. But the Highlanders would not get closer until the final 15 seconds when Matejcikova made another layup for the final margin. Alana Dudley and Alyssa Albanese each added 10 points for the Highlanders.

Junior Sydni Epps made a right-corner three-pointer 48-26 lead that stymied any hopes of a NJIT comeback bid. Epps also added six rebounds off the bench in 13 minutes.

The Pride will have a 12-day break between the games before returning to action on Dec. 21 with a noon road game at ACC-member Boston College.
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