THE FIRST LOOK
The Hofstra women's basketball team (3-6) is set to close out the calendar year and non-conference action at the 2019 Fordham Holiday Classic in the Bronx, NY. The four-team tournament features the host Fordham Rams, Houston Cougars and Samford Bulldogs. The Pride are set to kick off tournament play against Houston on Sunday, December 29 at 3 p.m. Depending on the result, Hofstra will face either Fordham or Samford on Monday, December 30 at a time to be determined.

HOW TO WATCH
Pride Productions Live Audio will be available for both contests courtesy of WRHU (88.7 FM). Live statistics will also be available for both contests. There will be no live video stream for Sunday's game against Houston. Live video will only be available for games featuring the host Rams. Links to all of the above can be found at the top of this release and on the Hofstra women's basketball schedule page on www.gohofstra.com.

INSIDE THE SERIES

• Hofstra and Houston have never met
• Hofstra is 8-10 all-time against Fordham. The last time that the two teams met was on November 21 of the 2014-15 season when Fordham defeated the Pride, 60-46.
• Hofstra and Samford have never met

 
A WIN OVER HOUSTON WOULD…

• Give Hofstra its fourth win of the season and the first win over Houston in program history
• Be the 718th known victory in the history of Hofstra women's basketball and 474th at the NCAA Division I level.

 
SCOUTING THE HOUSTON COUGARS
Houston (6-6) a member of the American Athletic Conference, enters the contest coming off a 75-60 win over Southern Mississippi. Three Cougars net an average of at least 10 points per game, including Jasmyne Harris (14.6 ppg), Dorian Branch (12.4), and Tatyana Hill (11.5 ppg).
 
SCOUTING THE FORDHAM RAMS
After starting the season off 1-4, Fordham (6-5, 0-0 A-10) is entering its own Holiday Classic on a hot streak, winning four-straight games dating back to Nov. 30 while also winning six of its last seven with its only loss in the stretch to No. 25 Arkansas. Fordham gets a majority of its scoring from its starters, as four players featured in the Rams starting five average double figures. Bre Cavanaugh leads the team with 16.8 points per game, followed by Anna DeWolfe (12.8 ppg), Kendell Heremaia (12.1 ppg) and Kaitlyn Downey (11.6 ppg).
 
SCOUTING THE SAMFORD BULLDOGS
Samford (4-9), a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon), recently snapped a three-game skid with an 84-56 win against Murray State on Friday, December 20. Sarah Myers is leading the Bulldogs with an average of 13.7 points per game while Natalie Armstrong follows closely behind with 13.0 points per contest.

SCOUTING THE HOFSTRA PRIDE
Hofstra is entering the contest coming off a very exciting win against Campbell on December 21. Junior guard Ana Hernandez Gil, who leads the Pride in scoring with 11.0 points per game, poured in a career-high 25 points while shooting an incredible 8-of-10 from beyond the arc. Redshirt sophomore forward Jaylen Hines is second in scoring with 9.2 points per game while adding a team-high 7.6 rebounds per night. Freshman guard Sorelle Ineza enters the Holiday Classic averaging 9.0 points per game with a team-best 35 assists. Senior forward Marianne Kalin rounds out the top-four scorers with 8.3 points per contest while pulling down an average of 6.1 boards per game which ranks second on the squad.

UP NEXT
Hofstra is set to kick off the New Year and Colonial Athletic Association action against Northeastern on Sunday, January 5. Tip-off from Matthews Arena in Boston is set for 2 p.m.