Hempstead, NY - Northeastern outscored the Hofstra, 20-18, in the decisive fourth quarter and held off a late Hofstra rally to escape with a 54-53 Colonial Athletic Association victory Saturday afternoon at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex. Hofstra led by one entering the fourth quarter and closed out the game on a 7-0 spurt before running out of time.

Hofstra saw its two-game win streak snapped with the loss and slipped to 4-6 overall and 2-2 in CAA play. The Huskies picked up their first win of the season and moved to 1-5 overall and 1-3 in league play.

Jaylen Hines led all scorers with 19 points for the Pride and pulled down a game-best 11 rebounds. Jaala Henry joined her in double-figures with 12 points and added nine rebounds.  
Both teams got off to slow starts offensively, combining for six points in the first five minutes of the first quarter. Northeastern scored the first basket of the game, 2:24 into the contest, on a layup from Ayanna Dublin. The Pride then scored back-to-back baskets from Henry and Vanerlie Valcourt to take a 4-2 lead with 5:40 to play. The Huskies scoring picked up after the midway point and a 9-0 run gave them an 11-4 lead following a three-point play from Kendall Currence with 2:39 to go in the opening stanza. The Pride got a free throw with 1:08 to play to stop the Northeastern run and the teams traded baskets in the final minute as the Huskies led, 13-7, after one quarter.

Hofstra would cut the Northeastern leas to three on a three-pointer from Hines with 5:59 to play in the second quarter. Henry made it a one-point game, 16-15, with a jumper following an offensive rebound with 4:06 to go in the half and Hines made a pair of free throws with 2:22 on the clock to give the Pride a 17-16 lead. With the game tied at 18, Mossi Staples hit a three-pointer for the Huskies with 31 seconds left that gave the visitors a 21-18 lead at halftime.

Northeastern took a six-point lead early in the third quarter following a three-pointer from Maddie Vizza. Rosi Nicholson cut the Pride's deficit in half with 8:12 to go with a three of her own to make it 26-23 with 8:12 to go. Hofstra would cut Northeastern's lead to one, 32-31 with 3:05 to go on a three-pointer from Jahsyni Knight. Henry would put the Pride ahead, 33-32, with 1:36 to go after a pair of free throws and Mikiyah Croskey would extend the lead to three with a second-chance layup with 27 second remaining. Northeastern's Mide Oriyomi would hit a jumper with three ticks left to cut the Hofstra lead to one, 35-34, at the end of three quarters.

The fourth quarter saw four tie scores and five lead changes in the first three minutes. Stella Clark's three-pointer with 7:06 on the clock broke a 42-all deadlock and gave the Huskies a 45-42 lead. Vizza extended the Huskies lead to six with a three-pointer on their next possession. Henry made it a four-point game, 48-44, for the Pride with a layup with 5:24 to play. Knight followed with two free throws with 4:23 remaining to make it 48-46. Staples and Clark put together back-to-back baskets for the Huskies to push their lead back to six, 52-46, with 3:42 on the clock. Northeastern would get a pair of free throws from Staples with 2:36 to play to cap a 6-0 run and extend the lead to eight, 54-46. Hines would convert a three-point play with 2:16 remaining to make it a 54-49 game. Hines would do some more damage at the line as she sank two more with 1:41 to play to make it a one-possession game at 54-51. Henry would pull Hofstra to within one, 54-53 with a driving layup with 22 seconds to play. Northeastern would miss two free throws with 17 seconds to go with Hofstra getting the rebound and calling timeout to set up a final play. The Huskies forced a held ball with 3.9 seconds left but Hofstra maintained possession. However, the Pride could not get off a shot after inbounding the ball and time ran out.

Oriyomi had 16 points to lead three Northeastern players in double-figures. Staples chipped in 13 points while Clark added 12. Dublin had a team-high eight rebounds.

Hofstra returns to action Saturday, January 16, when it hosts Delaware in a CAA contest. The game is closed to the public and no tickets are available.

NOTES:
-Hofstra is 23-26 all-time versus Northeastern.
-Hofstra had defeated Northeastern, 68-57, in Boston on Thursday.  
-The double-double with Hines' second of the season and 10th of her career.
-Hofstra held a 46-29 rebounding advantage.
-The team combined for 40 turnovers.
-There were 10 lead changes and nine tie scores in the game.