Boston, Mass. – Junior guard JaKayla Brown scored a career-high 23 points and Hofstra shot a season-best 50-percent from the field as the Pride defeated Northeastern for its second-straight Colonial Athletic Association victory, 68-57 Thursday afternoon.
 
Hofstra improved to 4-5 on the season and 2-1 in the CAA while Northeastern dropped to 0-5 overall and 0-3 in the conference.
 
In addition to its 22-of-44 effort from the field, Hofstra was clutch on the free throw line, going 23-of-28 (82-percent) on the afternoon to help seal the win.
 
Brown finished her day shooting 5-of-11 from the field and 12-of-14 from the charity stripe, and joining her in double figures was junior Jahsyni Knight and redshirt junior Jaylen Hines. Knight added 13 points for Hofstra (3-of-5 FG, 7-of-8 FT) and finished the contest with four assists and four steals. Hines recorded 10 points, six rebounds, three swipes, and two assists.
 
The Pride also received solid minutes off the bench from redshirt senior, Mikiyah Croskey, who went 4-of-5 from the field for a season-high eight points while also adding a two boards and a game-high pair of blocks.
 
The game got off to a slow start for both teams as the score was just 5-2 nearly three minutes into the game. Hofstra settled down when Hines made a layup at the 7:34 mark, sparking a 14-0 run that lasted the remainder of the first quarter to put Hofstra up by nine, 14-5 at the first break. Croskey put together a perfect first quarter from the field (3-of-3), while defensively, the Blue and Gold limited Northeastern to just 2-of-10 (20-percent) shooting. Hofstra extend its lead to 13 points, 30-17, at halftime, when Croskey hit a mid-range jump shot just before the buzzer sounded.
 
Hofstra continued to hold on to its shooting touch in the third quarter with an 8-of-11 effort from the field to open up the second half. Hofstra capitalized on its transition game during the frame and scored nine of the game's next 10 points including four fast break layups by Nicholson to open up the Pride lead to 19, 46-27 with 1:40 to go in the third.
 
Northeastern began the fourth quarter on a 13-2 run before eventually getting within five points to trim Hofstra's lead to 50-45 with 5:31 to go in the game. Brown responded with a jump shot inside the paint before Hofstra knocked down four-straight free throws to increase the lead back to double digits (11). From there, Northeastern was able to get back within six points with 1:24 on the clock, but Hofstra's seven made free throws down the stretch helped secure the win.  
 
The Pride return to action on Saturday for the back half of the home-and-home series against Northeastern. Tip-off at the David S. Mack Sports & Exhibition Complex is set for 2 p.m. The game will be streamed live on FloHoops.
 
NOTES:
-Hofstra cut the Northeastern series lead to 25-23
-Brown recorded her seventh-straight game in double figures and has reached the 10-point mark in eight of nine contests
-Hines also reached 10 points for the eighth of the last nine games and sixth-straight
-Hofstra scored 27 points off Northeastern's 21 turnovers. It was the seventh game this season that Hofstra forced at least 20 turnovers.
-The Pride posted season-highs in steals (13), blocked shots (5), and free throws (23)