Hempstead, NY – Senior Krystal Luciano tallied game-highs of 15 points and nine assists and junior Ashunae Durant added nine points and a career-high 21 rebounds for the Pride, but Seahawks senior Jasmine Steele scored all 13 of her points in the second half to spark a comeback as UNCW defeated Hofstra, 56-54, in overtime in a Colonial Athletic Association contest at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex Friday afternoon.

The UNCW snapped a six-game losing skid as the Seahawks improved to 6-11 overall and 1-5 in the CAA. Hofstra, which dropped its second consecutive game, falls to 8-8 on the season and 1-4 in conference play.

In addition to Luciano's 15 points, junior Aleana Leon added 14 points while senior Sandra Dongmo added eight points and 11 rebounds. Durant's 21 caroms topped her previous best of 17 against Sacramento State in November. It is the fifth-most rebounds in Pride history and the most by a Pride player since Shante Evans grabbed 23 during the 2012-13 season. Hofstra shot 30 percent (21-69) from the field including five of 23 from the three-point line.

In addition to Steele's 13 points and five assists, senior Jordan Henry tallied 10 points, including two big buckets in overtime, and grabbed 13 rebounds. It was her third double-double of the season and seventh of her career. Junior Rebekah Banks added nine points and 11 rebounds for the Seahawks who shot 34 (21-62) from the field including the identical five for 23 from the arc.

The first quarter was a low-scoring period with two tied scores, three lead changes and neither team able to build more than a two-point lead. After the two teams split the first eight points over the first 5:07, Hofstra's E'Lexus Davis hit a lay-up to give the Pride a 6-4 advantage. But UNCW's Timber Tate responded with a three-pointer at the 2:59 mark to give the Seahawks a 7-6 lead. It would be UNCW's last bucket for a long time.

Pride guard Ashunae Durant hit a turn-around jumper in the lane 20 seconds later as Hofstra held an 8-7 lead after one quarter. The two teams combined to hit just seven of 25 field goal attempts in the period.

The Pride boosted their lead with a 7-0 run to open the second period behind two three-pointers by Sydni Epps, the second one at the 7:14 mark to give Hofstra a 15-7 advantage. UNCW would end their 7:23 scoring drought with 5:36 to play in the first half on a jumper by Reeves which started a 5-0 Seahawk run that closed the deficit to 15-12 after a jumper by Rebekah Banks with 3:11 to play in the second quarter.

But Krystal Luciano and Durant followed with lay-ups for the Pride to boost the lead to 19-12 with 2:06 to play in the quarter. Reeves hit a free throw less than a minute later for the Seahawks and Madison Raque added a jumper 10 seconds before halftime as UNCW cut the deficit to 19-15 at the break. Epps led the Pride with six points while Reeves and Banks each tallied four for UNCW in the first half.

Hofstra opened the third quarter with an 8-0 run behind four points from Aleana Leon to boost the lead to 27-15 at the 6:58 mark. UNCW ended another 3:30 drought with two free throws before Sandra Dongmo scored inside to push the score to 29-17 with 6:29 to play in the period. Steele hit consecutive baskets for UNCW to close the gap to 29-21 before the Pride went on an 8-3 spurt, with Luciano getting five for Hofstra to bump the lead to 37-24 with 3:41 to play after a Leon lay-up. Raque's jumper and Tate's three-pointer with 39 seconds to play in the third sandwiched another Leon lay-up as the Pride held a 39-29 lead after three quarters.

After Durant and Henry exchanged baskets to open the fourth quarter, Durant added a free throw to move the score to 42-31 with 8:11 to play. UNCW then went on a 14-0 run behind seven points from Steele with her back-to-back baskets giving the Seahawks a 45-42 lead with 3:02 to play in the fourth quarter. Luciano answered with a three-pointer for the Pride 30 second later to tie the game at 45-45. Luciano and Raque then exchanged free throws before Luciano and Steele exchanged jumpers to keep the game knotted at 48 with 1:06 to play.

Hofstra had two shots at breaking the tie but both were off the mark before UNCW got the ball back after a jump ball with 32 seconds to play. Tate took a long three-point attempt in the waning seconds that missed sending the game into overtime.

In the extra period, Reeves hit two free throws for UNCW to take a 50-48 lead before Leon responded with a 3-pointer for Hofstra to give the Pride a 51-50 advantage with 3:14 to play. Henry then hit a turn-around jumper at the 2:37 mark and added lay-up at the 1:24 mark to give the Seahawks a 54-51 lead. Banks hit one of two free throws 34 seconds later for UNCW before Luciano hit a driving one-handed lay-up and converted the free throw for a three-point play for the Pride that closed the deficit to 55-54 with 34.4 seconds remaining.

After Hofstra got the ball back on a blocked shot by Durant, Leon missed two free throws for the Pride with 5.3 seconds left before Reeves sank one of two free throws with 2.1 seconds remaining for the Seahawks to boost the lead to 56-54. The Pride had a chance to tie or win the game but the inbound pass in the Hofstra front-court went through the hands of Luciano as time expired.

Hofstra will return to action on Sunday when the team travels to Philadelphia to face Drexel at 2 p.m.