Williamsburg, VA – The Hofstra women's basketball team kicked off its unique Colonial Athletic Association slate on Saturday but fell to the William & Mary Tribe by a score of 63-56 at Kaplan Arena.
 
The Pride fall to 2-5 on the year and 0-1 in CAA play while the Tribe improve to 4-2 overall and 1-0 in league action.
 
Junior JaKayla Brown paced Hofstra with 15 points (7-of-15 FG), her sixth-straight game in double figures, while junior Rosi Nicholson added 13 points (6-of-11 FG). Joining them in double figures was redshirt junior Jaylen Hines who recorded 10+ points for the fourth consecutive game, netting exactly 10 points (4-of-8 FG) to go along with a game-high eight rebounds.
 
Hofstra also got a 50-percent effort from the field from redshirt junior Jaala Henry who contributed eight points and three rebounds, while junior Vanerlie Valcourt added five points, six rebounds and a team-high three assists for the Pride.
 
William & Mary took an early 19-15 lead after the first period, however Hofstra did have it going offensively, shooting 64-percent (7-of-11) from the field during the first 10 minutes of action. Brown was a major contributor to that, as she dropped nine points on 4-of-5 shooting during the first frame. The Tribe picked things up in the second quarter, outscoring the Pride 17-8 during the next 10 minutes to take a 36-23 lead at the midway point.
 
The Pride got back into the groove of things in the third period, shooting 6-of-10 from the field and 2-of-3 from deep during the stanza. Hofstra eventually got within nine points with the help of a 6-0 run and defensively, the Pride did not allow William & Mary to score for over five minutes, but a Tribe layup with two seconds remaining gave William & Mary a 12-point advantage heading into the final quarter.
 
As they have shown all season long, Hofstra would not go away and opened the final period on a 8-2 spurt to get within five points, the closest since the 5:42 mark in the second quarter. Four different Hofstra players scored during the run, including Nicholson, Henry, Hines and Brown. The Blue and Gold managed to get within five points on four more occasions underneath the 3:34 mark, but William & Mary hit six free throws down the final stretch to keep the Pride at bay.
 
For William & Mary, Nyla Pollard led the Tribe with 21 points while Sydney Wagner added 19.
 
Hofstra will turn around quickly and close out its opening CAA weekend tomorrow against the Tribe at 2 p.m. at Kaplan Arena. This event is closed to the public. Fans can watch online on FloHoops.com while Pride Productions live audio will also be available.
 
NOTES:
-Hofstra leads the all-time series against William & Mary, 29-16-1, but Hofstra is looking to snap a six-game losing streak against the Tribe
-Hofstra got 42 of its 56 points in the paint. The Pride out-scored opponents in the paint for the sixth time this season.
-Hofstra out-shot William & Mary, 46 percent to 43 percent
-Brown led Hofstra in scoring for the second consecutive game (fourth overall) and third time out of the last four games
-Hofstra suffered 18 miscues to William & Mary's nine. It was the first game this season that Hofstra forced less than 20 turnovers.