Hempstead, NY - JaKayla Brown led three Hofstra scorers in double-figures with 17 points as the Pride held off several fourth quarter Northeastern rallies in a 63-60 Colonial Athletic Association victory Tuesday night at the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex. The Huskies cut an eight-point fourth quarter deficit to two points in the final minute before Hofstra secured the victory with a pair of free throws.  

Hofstra ends the regular season with a record of 7-11 overall and 5-6 in league play. Northeastern is 7-12 overall and 6-10 in CAA action. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Huskies.

Brown was joined in double-digits by teammates Jaylen Hines and Jahsyni Knight, who each had 16 points. Brown had a team-high seven rebounds while Knight added six rebounds and five assists. Jaala Henry contributed seven points, four rebounds, and five assists for the Pride as well.

Northeastern jumped out to an 8-0 lead behind two three-pointers by Maddie Vizza sandwiched around a jumper from Ayanna Dublin. Hofstra would get a three-pointer from Brown to get on the board with 6:49 on the clock and Hines would add a jumper to make it 8-5 with 6:18 remaining. The teams traded baskets and then went scoreless for three minutes before the Pride scored six of the final eight points of the quarter to lead 13-12.

The second quarter was a back-and-forth battle. The Huskies took 15-13 lead on another Vizza three-pointer just over two minutes into the game. Hofstra tied it on a layup from Mikiyah Croskey before Kendall Currence's pull-up jumper put Northeastern back on top, 17-15, with 6:12 to go. The Pride would go back up, 19-17, on a Henry layup with 4:20 to play. However, Northeastern scored five straight to go up by three, 22-19 with 3:25 on the clock. Henry would eventually tie the score at 24 with 13 seconds remaining but the Huskies scored with one second to go to take a 26-24 lead into halftime.

Hofstra scored the first four points of the third quarter on a Hines free throw and a three-pointer from Knight to take a 28-26 lead with 8:04 to play. The teams would trade the lead and Hofstra would tie the score at 33 with 4:28 to play on a rare three-pointer from Hines. After Northeastern went back up by two, Hofstra went on a 7-0 run featuring a three-pointer from Knight and layups from Henry and Hines for a 40-35 Pride lead with 1:32 to go. Currence stopped the Hofstra run with a jumper but Knight hit a three-pointer at the horn to give the Pride a six-point lead, 43-37, at the end of three quarters.

The Pride led by eight, 47-39, in the fourth quarter following a jumper from Hines with 8:28 to play. Northeastern scored six of the next eight points to cut its deficit to four, 49-45, with 7:24 to go. Hofstra withstood that surge and answered with three consecutive points to go back up by seven, 52-45, with 5:57 on the clock after Zyheima Swint's put back. Brown's two free throws with 3:40 remaining gave the Pride their largest lead of the game at nine points, 55-46.

The Huskies had another rally and put up five unanswered points to make it 55-51 with 2:09 to play following a layup from Izzy Larsen. The Pride got a free throw from Brown and a layup from Knight made it a seven-point advantage. Mide Oriyomi hit a three-pointer for Northeastern with 40 seconds on the clock to make it a 60-56 game and Hofstra would miss four straight free throws. Oriyomi then cut the lead to two with 19 seconds left but Brown drained a pair of free throws one second later for some breathing room and Hofstra would win by a three-point margin.

Currence had 18 points to lead all scorers. Vizza and Larsen each had nine points. Oriyomi had seven points and a game-high 13 rebounds for the Huskies.

Hofstra will next be in action at the Colonial Athletic Association Championship at Elon, from March 10-13. Matchups have not been determined.

Notes:
-Hofstra honored seniors Mikiyah Croskey and Mie Hoff before the game.
-Hines finished with three steals and two blocked shots in the game.
-Hofstra is 24-27 all-time in the series with Northeastern.
-Brown has scored in double-figures in 15 games, Hines 14, and Knight 10.
-Hofstra is 2-2 in games decided by less than five points this season.