Hempstead, NY - Led by a strong defensive showing and three players in double-figures, the Hofstra women's basketball team started off its weekend of Colonial Athletic Association action with a 72-59 win over UNCW Saturday afternoon from inside the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex.

Junior JaKayla Brown and redshirt junior Jaylen Hines led the way in today's game with 20 points each while Hines added seven rebounds and three steals in today's conference win. Junior Jahsyni Knight added 13 points in today's win along with seven assists and five steals for Hofstra, and redshirt junior Jaala Henry pulled down eight of the team's 40 rebounds to go with her six points and four assists. Freshman Zyheima Swint led all players with three of Hofstra's six blocks to go with four points and three rebounds and Vanerlie Valcourt matched her career-high of four steals in her second-straight outing.

The win sees Hofstra improve to 5-10 overall and 3-6 in the CAA, while UNCW moves to 3-8 overall and 0-5 in conference play. The win snapped a five-game skid for the Pride.

The Pride traded baskets with the Seahawks in the opening moments of the first quarter before the visitors pulled out to a seven-point advantage with under two minutes to go in the quarter. The quarter ended with the Pride trailing 14-9 thanks to six points from Hines, including the final basket of the quarter off a fast-break lay-up.

The second quarter was a marked turnaround for Hofstra as the hosts outscored UNCW 25-10. An 8-2 run midway through the quarter put the Pride ahead before UNCW retook the lead. A three-pointer from Brown put the Pride back in front 24-22 at 2:44 and kick-started a run of nine unanswered points, including back-to-back steals and lay-ups from Knight, to give Hofstra a 30-22 leads with 1:10 left before halftime. UNCW broke the run with a turn-around jumper, but the Pride saw out the final 40 seconds with a pair of two-point baskets by Hines and Valcourt as the teams went into the break with Hofstra leading 34-24. The Pride tightened up defensively in the second quarter, holding the Seahawks to a 31.3 shooting percentage while forcing UNCW into committing four turnovers. On the offensive end of the court, Hofstra shot 56.3% from the floor in the second quarter.

Hofstra's lead grew to as big as 16 points thanks to seven Hines points in the opening half of the third quarter, but the Seahawks eventually drove down the Hofstra lead to nine with a run of six unanswered points with under two minutes to go. A three-point play by Brown gave the Pride a double-digit lead, and Brown finished off the quarter with a lay-up in the final five seconds to put Hofstra ahead 50-38 going into the final quarter.

Seven straight points in the opening minutes gave Hofstra a commanding 20-point lead over UNCW to open the final quarter. The Seahawks twice brought the Hofstra lead under double-digits, but they were unable to reduce the deficit to less than eight points before the final buzzer sounded. Knight scored seven of her 11 points and dished out three of her six assists in the fourth quarter today.

Za'Nautica Downs led all scorers with 23 points in today's game, while Carol-Anne Obusek scored 18 points for the Seahawks and led all players with 11 rebounds.

The two sides are set to compete again on Sunday, January 31, with a 2 p.m. tip-off.

NOTES:
-The Pride now lead the all-time series, 20-19. The Hofstra win snaps a five-game losing streak against the Seahawks.
-Hofstra finished with 42 points inside the paint and scored 25 points off of turnovers.
-The last time that two Hofstra players reached 20 points was on January 26, 2020 when Ana Hernandez Gil and Jaylen Hines each had 20 points
-The Pride accumulated a season-high 15 steals, compared to just nine steals for the Seahawks.
-Swint tied a career-high with her three blocks in today's game, originally set against Albany in December.