Hempstead, NY – Emma Von Essen tied a career-high with 18 points scored, but Lehigh pulled away from the Pride in a 68-56 win for the visiting Mountain Hawks from inside the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex.
 
Hofstra slips to 4-3 overall following the first game of December, and Sunday's result puts Lehigh at 7-1 on the season.
 
Von Essen went 7-16 from the floor and shot 4-13 from beyond the arc, and she tied her previous career-high with six rebounds, while posting two steals against the Mountain Hawks. Tionna Baker, Sorelle Ineza, and Ally Knights all scored six points each for the Pride, and Brooke Anya pulled down a team-leading eight rebounds.
 
Lehigh connected on four three-pointers inside the first five minutes of the opening quarter to lead the Pride by seven before Selma Markisic converted a tough layup to make it a five-point game. Ineza cut Lehigh's margin to four with a pair of free throws to end the quarter. Lily Fandre scored the first seven Lehigh points of the second quarter to put the visitors ahead by nine, but Hofstra battled back with two-point baskets from Anya and Janaia Fargo, and another Von Essen trey to make it a four-point difference with 3:13 left before the halftime buzzer. Whitney Lind scored on a second-chance layup inside the three-minute mark, and both teams would go into the break with the score at 27-21 to the Mountain Hawks.
 
Lehigh's Ella Stemmer opened the third quarter with a three-pointer, making it a nine-point difference before Hofstra went on a 9-2 run bring the deficit to two points against Lehigh, capped off with Von Essen's fourth three-pointer of the day. Von Essen struck again with a long two after a Lind fast break layup to bring the Pride to within two of the visitors. A Knights layup followed a Stemmer three, making it a 37-34 score with 5:20 remaining in the frame. Lehigh rattled off seven unanswered points to lead by 10 with 3:31 still on the clock. Hofstra closed the gap to four with a 7-1 run late, but Lehigh scored five of the final six points of the quarter to lead by eight.
 
After Knights scored the fourth quarter's first points on two free throws, Lehigh rattled off a 13-2 run lasting well over five minutes to give the guests a 20-point advantage as the game was well out of reach of the Pride as they scored 10 points inside he final two minutes.
 
Stemmer scored 16 points to lead Lehigh in scoring, and Meghan O'Brien recorded eight rebounds for the Mountain Hawks.
 
The Pride's home stretch continues with a mid-week contest against Iona on Thursday, December 7, at 7 p.m. For ticket information, visit HofstraTickets.com, call (516) HOF-TIXX, or visit the Hofstra Athletics Ticket Office located in the lobby of the Mack Sports Complex.
 
NOTES:
-Hofstra slips to 10-13 all-time against Lehigh. This was the first meeting between Hofstra and Lehigh since November 24, 1997.
-Von Essen finished in double figures for the sixth time this season and the 16th time in her Hofstra career.
-Baker recorded three of Hofstra's nine steals against Lehigh.