Boston, MA – The Hofstra women's basketball team outscored Northeastern 19-13 in the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough as the Pride suffered a 59-52 defeat to the Huskies from the Cabot Center in Colonial Athletic Association action.
 
Hofstra slips to 9-16 overall and 3-11 in conference play. Northeastern moved to 14-11 overall and 9-5 in the CAA following Sunday afternoon's win.
 
Sorelle Ineza led the Pride with 12 points while pulling down six rebounds, and Zyheima Swint scored 11 points with six rebounds. Brandy Thomas led Hofstra with eight rebounds, and Ally Knights dished out a season-high nine assists to go with her seven points.
 
The Pride went 0-10 from the field to start the game, allowing Northeastern to jump out to a 6-0 lead before Swint got Hofstra on the board with a contested layup at 6:00. Emma Von Essen scored on a pullup jumper following a Northeastern turnover, and Fargo knocked down a layup and free throw to tie the game at 7-7 with 4:22 left in the quarter. The Huskies broke the deadlock with four straight free throws, followed by a pair of successful free throws from Knights, the first of seven good free throws by Knights in the quarter. The teams traded baskets and free throws down the stretch of the quarter, and Northeastern led 19-16 at the buzzer.
 
The Huskies opened the second quarter on an 8-0 run lasting five minutes to take an 11-point lead before a three by Jada Peacock cut the deficit to eight at 5:02. Northeastern's Asha Parker hit a fast-break layup, and Hofstra responded with a jumper by Von Essen, but Northeastern closed the final 2:52 of the quarter with a 7-2 run to lead by 13 at halftime.
 
Aside from the 3:10 mark after a Swint free throw, Northeastern led by double-digits throughout the third quarter. Four straight points – a Swint free throw and a Thomas three – brought the Pride within nine of the hosts, but Halle Idowu hit a jumper in the paint to give Northeastern an 11-point lead with 7:30 still to play. Von Essen knocked down a three-pointer to cut the deficit to eight at 7:04 before Deja Bristol made it a 10-point game with a layup at 6:36. The two sides went back-and-forth with two-point baskets on the scoreboard for the next series of possessions until Derin Erdogan sunk a three to give the hosts an 11-point lead with 4:06 to go.
 
A second-chance layup from Ineza started a 5-0 Hofstra run to bring the Pride to within six of Northeastern with 2:06 still to play in the game. Thomas brought the Pride back within six at 1:06 after Ariana Webb converted a second-chance jumper one minute earlier, but time and the ball wasn't on Hofstra's side as the Pride got no closer before the buzzer sounded.
 
Geimima Motema paced Northeastern with 16 points, while leading-scorer Erdogan scored 10.
 
Hofstra hosts its final two games of the regular season starting on Friday, February 24, against Drexel (19-7, 11-4 CAA), with a 7 p.m. tip-off from the Mack Sports Complex. Hofstra will host its Play4Kay game to raise money in support of the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
 
NOTES:
-Knights' nine assists were the most this season since she recorded six against LIU on December 3.
-Ineza has finished in double-figures for the seventh consecutive game.
-Hofstra forced Northeastern into committing 17 turnovers while committing just 16 themselves. It is the first time this season that Hofstra committed fewer turnovers than its opponent in back-to-back games.
-Hofstra's all-time record against Northeastern drops to 25-30.