Wilmington, NC – Rosi Nicholson scored a game-winning three-point play in the dying moments of regulation in Hofstra's 63-62 Colonial Athletic Association road win over UNCW from the Trask Coliseum. The Pride scored the final three points in the game after watching UNCW wipe out a nine-point fourth quarter Hofstra lead.
 
The win lifts Hofstra to 8-8 overall and 2-3 in the conference. The Seahawks drop to 3-12 overall and 0-4 in the CAA after Friday night's defeat.
 
With the Pride trailing UNCW, 62-60, with three seconds left in regulation, Janaia Fargo heaved the inbound pass to half court, and Nicholson collected the ball with an open lane to the basket. The senior guard drove the lane and converted the game-tying layup with 1.4 seconds left in regulation, and she scored the free throw after being fouled during her layup attempt, putting Hofstra ahead by one. The Seahawk three from half court missed the basket, and Hofstra came away with the dramatic conference win.
 
Nicholson finished the night with 10 points and five rebounds for the Pride in the conference win. Brandy Thomas led the Pride with 19 points on 7-14 from the field and she pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. Sorelle Ineza scored 14 points on 5-6 shooting and 2-3 from three-point range.
 
The Pride opened the game with a 4-2 at 7:55 lead off of a pair of Thomas layups, but UNCW took the lead with a layup and free throw by Jayde Gamble before Swint banged in a layup with 5:34 on the clock. UNCW rattled off 10 unanswered points to lead Hofstra, 17-9, with 1:59 to go, and the Pride answered with three straight three-pointers, including a buzzer-beater by Ineza, to put the score at 17-15.
 
The Pride had its strongest quarter of the night in the second, outscoring UNCW 20-12. The Seahawks upped their lead to six with two free throws, but a Nicholson layup at 8:11 brought Hofstra back to within four, and a Janaia Fargo layup put the Pride within two of the hosts. After the two teams traded baskets with layups from Gamble and Ineza, Hofstra retook the lead with a 7-0 run lasting until 3:33, with two-pointers by Thomas and Alarice Gooden and a Fargo trey. Hofstra's lead grew to five with a three-pointer by Nicholson late in the quarter, and the Pride ended the half with four of the final six points to lead, 35-29.
 
Hofstra's hot shooting touch continued into the third quarter, with the Pride scoring seven of the first nine points before UNCW called timeout at 7:38 trailing 11. Hofstra's lead grew to as big as 12 following back-to-back Ineza baskets in the paint with 1:26 to go. The Seahawks scored a three-pointer inside the final minute, bringing Hofstra's lead to nine entering the fourth quarter. Seven of Thomas' 19 points came in the third quarter.
 
In a reversal of the third quarter, the Seahawks scored the five straight points inside the first minute of the fourth quarter, cutting the Pride's lead to four with 8:54 left in the quarter. A pair of Thomas free throws and a driving Fargo layup, followed by two Ineza free throws, put Hofstra ahead by eight with 4:52 left in regulation. UNCW went on an 8-3 run inside the final 4:20, including the game-tying layup by Carrie Gross with 18 seconds left. The Seahawks grabbed a rebound with six seconds left and, following a UNCW timeout, pulled ahead by two on a Gross jumper with three seconds remaining on the clock, setting the stage for Nicholson's late heroics.
 
Gross led UNCW with 19 points and five assists, while Jayde Gamble scored 16 points, and Lexi Jackson finished with 11 points.
 
The Pride concludes its two-game road stretch on Sunday, January 15, against Charleston (6-8, 1-3 CAA). Tip-off begins at 1 p.m. from TD Arena.
 
NOTES:
-Hofstra ups its record over UNCW to 30-19. This was Hofstra's sixth-consecutive win over UNCW.
-UNCW outrebounded Hofstra, 31-24.
-Hofstra finished with 23 points off 18 UNCW turnovers.
-The Pride scored 30 points in the paint and had 24 bench points.