WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The Hofstra University Women's Basketball team started the season on a high note as the Pride defeated the University of Hartford, 43-41 at the Chase Family Arena on November 6.
 
Sophomore JaKayla Brown was the leading scorer for the Pride with 12 points, while redshirt sophomore Jaylen Hines also finished in double figures with 10 points. In addition to her scoring total, Hines paced Hofstra with seven rebounds, while Brown followed with six.
 
Hofstra played a strong defensive game all night long, holding Hartford to just 30 percent shooting overall and 22 percent beyond the arc. The Pride shined on the boards as well, holding a 48-42 edge on the glass. Of Hofstra's 48 rebounds, 23 were on the offensive end.
 
Hartford's best quarter was the first when the Hawks finished the final stanza holding a 13-12 edge over the Pride, but Hofstra turned around to command the second frame, out-scoring the Hawks 13-6 to carry a 25-19 edge into the locker room. A Brown free throw at the 6:37 mark sparked an 11-0 Hofstra run that spanned just over four and a half minutes, increasing Hofstra's lead to 10, which matched the largest of the contest.
 
Hartford scored six of the game's next eight points, trimming the lead back down to three less than two minutes into the third quarter. Despite being limited from the floor in the third, Hofstra was 5-of-5 from the free throw line within those 10 minutes to help carry a 36-30 edge into the final frame.
 
The Pride stretched the lead back out to nine points with just under two minutes remaining in the contest, but Hartford made a late charge, scoring the final seven points of the game in under 1:50 to work the score back to 43-41. Junior Marianne Kalin blocked a Hawk attempt to tie the game with six seconds left and Hartford missed a three-pointer at the buzzer as the Pride captured the two-point victory.
 
Freshman Sorelle Ineza finished with eight points, three assists, and two rebounds in her collegiate debut. Kalin tallied seven points for the Pride, and redshirt junior guard Ana Hernandez Gil added six points.
 
The Pride are back in action on Sunday, November 10 for a non-conference contest at Sacred Heart. Tip-off at the William H. Pitt Center in Fairfield, Conn. is set for 1 p.m.
 
NOTES:
-Hofstra cut the Hartford series lead to 14-10
-Head coach Danielle Santos Atkinson earned her first career win at Hofstra
-The Pride won its fifth-straight season opener
-All 43 of Hofstra's points were scored by players in the starting lineup
-Hofstra's point total is the fewest in a win in Hofstra's Division I era
-Hofstra's 48 rebounds were the most since November 30, 2017 when the Pride defeated Sacred Heart, 86-81 in overtime.
-Hofstra's 23 offensive rebounds were the most since the 2016-17 season when Hofstra had 25 offensive boards against the College of Charleston on January 27, 2017