Towson, MD – Behind a season-high 62.5-percent from three-point range and a trio of double-digit scorers, the 12-seed Hofstra women's basketball team upset five-seed North Carolina A&T, 66-59, in the second round of the 2023 Colonial Athletic Association Championship presented by Primis from SECU Arena on the campus of Towson University.
 
The win propels Hofstra into the quarterfinals, making the Pride the first 12-seed to reach the quarterfinals of the CAA Championship since Georgia State achieved the feat in 2006. Hofstra will face four-seed William & Mary (17-12) on Friday at 2:30 p.m.
 
Hofstra moves to 12-19 on the year following Thursday's win. North Carolina A&T ends its first season of CAA competition with an 18-12 record.
 
Sorelle Ineza paced the Pride with 19 points on 7-12 shooting, 3-4 three-point shooting, and 2-2 from the free throw line. Brandy Thomas finished with 18 points against the Aggies on 6-15 shooting, including 3-4 from beyond the arc, and 3-5 from the charity stripe, in addition to five rebounds and three assists. Emma Von Essen scored 11 points for Hofstra, while Zyheima Swint pulled down a team-best seven rebounds to go with eight points, and Ally Knights dished out five assists.
 
After the Aggies opened the game with a 6-2 lead, Hofstra roared back with a 10-0 run lasting over four minutes to take a 12-6 lead. A pair of Knights free throws and an Ineza jumper in the paint keyed the Hofstra rally, while excellent defending from the Pride kept North Carolina A&T off the board. The Aggies ended their scoring drought at 3:02 with two Levossie Taylor free throws, but the scoring continued for the Pride with another five-point spurt behind a Swint layup and an Ineza three to put the Pride on top, 17-8, after one quarter.
 
The Aggies made it a three-point game with a 7-2 run to open the second quarter, but Hofstra responded with a Thomas three and a contested layup from Ineza to put the score at 24-16 with 5:49 to play. The Aggies scored on consecutive possessions to cut the deficit to four, but Thomas knocked down a three out of the media timeout, and Ineza converted a pair of free throws at 3:20, to give the Pride a nine-point lead. Hofstra's lead grew to as large as 11 points inside the final two minutes of the quarter before a Jordyn Dorsey fast-break layup made it a 37-28 scoreline at halftime.
 
After a third quarter that saw Hofstra own its biggest lead of the game – 14 points – and lead 57-45, North Carolina A&T made a 14-2 run in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 59-59 with 3:45, keeping Hofstra scoreless aside from a Von Essen basket at the 7:54 mark. Von Essen ended North Carolina A&T's momentum with a three-pointer in front of the Hofstra bench, giving the Pride the lead back with 3:24 to play. Hofstra's defending came up big once again late in the fourth quarter, as they kept the Aggies without a point for the remainder of the game. A layup from Thomas, plus free throws from Knights and Rosi Nicholson, iced the game and sent Hofstra onto the quarterfinals.
 
Doresey and Chaniya Clark led the Aggies with 15 points each, while Maleia Bracone scored 11 points.
 
Friday's quarterfinals will air on FloHoops and WRHU 88.7 FM.
 
NOTES:
-The all-time series between Hofstra and North Carolina A&T is even at 1-1.
-Rosi Nicholson finished the game with four steals.
-Hofstra has won two games in a CAA Championship for the first time since 2019.
-The Pride has made the CAA Championship quarterfinals for the fourth time in the last five seasons.
-Hofstra was narrowly outrebounded, 27-26.