Piscataway, NJ - Four Hofstra players finished in double-figures as the Pride fell in its season-opener, 73-68, to Rutgers from inside the Jersey Mike's Arena in Piscataway, New Jersey.

Graduate students Brandy Thomas and Rosi Nicholson tied for the team-lead with 16 points against the Scarlet Knights, while Thomas pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds. Junior Zyheima Swint scored 14 points and pulled down nine rebounds for the Pride, and sophomore Zaniyyah Ross-Barnes talied 12 points, with 10 coming in the second half. Junior Ally Knights led the team with five steals, and Alarice Gooden dished out five assists while scoring seven points off the bench.

The Pride jumped out to a 5-2 lead early in the first quarter before the Scarlet Knights pulled ahead with five straight points. Hofstra reclaimed the lead thanks to five straight points from Nicholson and a pair of Thomas free throws by the media timeout. An 8-2 run by the Scarlet Knights made it a one-point score late in the quarter, but a three-pointer by Gooden and a contested lay-up from Swint put the score at 19-15 in favor of the Pride after the first quarter.

Rutgers pulled ahead after a 10-4 run to start the second quarter, putting the score at 25-23 before Ally Knight tied the score with a pair of free throws with 5:45 to go. The hosts pulled ahead by as many as seven in the second quarter before the buzzer sounded, with the Pride trailing, 36-30, at halftime.

A 21-point third quarter put the Pride within one of the hosts. Rutgers opened a 13-point lead with an 11-2 run, but Hofstra clawed back with back-to-back Ross-Barnes baskets off of Rutgers turnovers. The Pride continued to whittle away the hosts lead thanks to a 9-1 run halfway through the quarter, and six of the final eight points belonged to Hofstra as the quarter came to a close.

Thomas put the Pride in front with a pair of three pointers to start the fourth quarter, but Rutgers tied the score with a pair of threes of their own before taking a two-point lead three minutes into the final quarter. Ross-Barnes evened the score with a two-point jumper, but five straight points for the Scarlet Knights put them ahead by five halfway through the quarter. Hofstra cut the deficit to one point with a Thomas trey at 1:29, but Rutgers put the game away with four consecutive free throws.

Awa Sidibe and Kai Carter led the Scarlet Knights with 16 points each, while Erica Lafayette, Abby Streeter, and Chyna Cornwell all scored 11 for the home side.

The Pride will be back in action on November 12 against Cleveland State. Opening tip-off against the Vikings is set for 12:30 p.m.

NOTES:
-Brandy Thomas recorded her 29th-career double-double, and her first as a member of the Hofstra Pride.
-Rutgers outshot Hofstra, 55%-36%, and outrebounded Hofstra, 36-35.
-Hofstra is now 0-4 all-time against Rutgers. This was the first meeting between the two programs since 1977.