Hempstead, NY - The Hofstra women's basketball team held a lead over visiting Charleston from the 5:44 mark of the first quarter until the final whistle, picking up the 73-61 victory over the Cougars from the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex in Colonial Athletic Association play. Hofstra's 73 points were a season-high.

Wednesday night's win over Charleston pushes Hofstra to 6-16 overall and 3-11 in the CAA, snapping Hofstra's four-game skid, and the loss puts Charleston at 14-12 overall and 6-9 against conference competition.

All five of Hofstra's starters finished in double figures. Jaylen Hines led the Pride with 17 points and added four rebounds and two steals. Jahsyni Knight scored 16 points, pulled down nine rebounds and dished out eight assists, while Selma Markisic and Jaala Henry each finished with 12 points, and Rosi Nicholson scored 10 and was responsible for five of Hofstra's 14 steals.

After the teams traded the lead four times in the opening four minutes of the first quarter before a Hines layup sparked a 6-0 Hofstra run to put the hosts ahead 10-5. The Pride continued to put points on the board, leading by as many as five inside the final two minutes, before four straight Charleston points put the score at 16-15 in favor of Hofstra at the end of the first quarter.

An early layup from Zyheima Swint kicked off a 7-0 run to start the second quarter, putting the Pride ahead by eight. A three-pointer from Markisic put Hofstra's lead to nine before five straight Charleston free throws reduced the visitor's deficit to four at 3:19 of the quarter. The Pride answered with six of the final 10 points of the quarter to go into the locker room sporting a 32-26 advantage.

The Pride came out of the break firing with a 9-2 run to open the third quarter, putting Hofstra ahead by 13 for its largest lead of the game. They went shot-for-shot for the remainder of the third quarter, neither team ever able to pull away from or close in on the other. Nicholson scored the final basket of the quarter on a layup with five seconds remaining, giving Hofstra a 53-46 lead going into the final frame.

After Swint scored the opening basket of the fourth quarter off a layup, Charleston went on an 8-2 run to pull to within three with 6:38 still to play. Hofstra rebuilt its lead to five points twice midway in the quarter, but Charleston answered right back several times, and managed to tie the score at 61-61 with a three-pointer at 5:18. It would be the last Charleston basket for the remainder of the game, however, as the Hofstra defense completely clamped down to hold the Cougars scoreless. The Pride pulled away with basket after basket, scoring 12 unanswered points off four jumpers and a pair of layups, to clinch the win.

Jenna Annecchiarico led all players with 29 points for the Cougars, while Anika McGarity and Latrice Perkins finished with 14 and 11 points, respectively.

Hofstra returns home for the second of three straight home games this Friday, February 25, at 7 p.m. against Towson. Tickets are available at HofstraTickets.com or at the Hofstra Athletics Ticket Office on Friday beginning one hour before game time.

NOTES:
-The all-time series between Hofstra and Charleston now stands at 8-8. This was Hofstra's first win over Charleston since March 1, 2019.
-Hofstra shot 53% from the floor and 82% from the free throw line, compared to Charleston's 32% from the floor and 64% on free throws.
-Hofstra cleaned up on the boards, pulling down 43 rebounds to Charleston's 29. Hofstra also dominated under the basket with a 56-12 advantage in points in the paint.
-Hofstra is 2-0 when scoring 70 or more points. Hofstra's only other game with over 70 points scored this season was a 72-57 win against Kennesaw State on November 26.
-It was Knight's second game out of the last three with seven assists or more and her eight assists were the most of any Pride player this season
-Hofstra's 14 steals matched a season-high