Hempstead, NY – The Hofstra women's basketball team erased an Elon double-digit fourth quarter lead with a lengthy 16-0 run, but Elon came away with the 55-54 CAA win over the Pride from the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex.
 
Hofstra drops to 7-9 overall and 1-4 in league play, and the win pushes Elon to 7-12 overall and 3-3 against CAA opponents.
 
Emma Von Essen dropped 23 points on the Phoenix, scoring 13 points in just the fourth quarter, while Selma Markisic posted 13 points for the Pride. Zyheima Swint pulled down 10 rebounds fo the home side, and Ally Knights dished out five assists.
 
Elon held a 6-5 lead at the 4:56 media timeout before adding a three-pointer by Iycez Adams 30 seconds later. A three from Markisic and a Swint free throw evened the score at 9-all, and a second basket from beyond the arc by Markisic gave the hosts a 12-11 lead at the end of the frame.
 
The Phoenix scored 11 of the first 13 points of the second quarter to race out to an eight-point lead within the first three minutes of the whistle. Another Von Essen trey cut the lead to five, but Elon scored six unanswered points to widen the margin to 11 with 4:06 remaining. A three by Markisic and another conversion from the charity stripe by Swint brought Hofstra to within six of Elon, but Diamond Monroe sunk a three-pointer inside the final 69 seconds to make it 31-22 in favor of the guests at halftime.
 
Hofstra cut into Elon's lead with a 6-2 run to start the third quarter, putting the Pride down by five with 6:21 remaining in the frame. Elon countered with a 16-2 run lasting nearly four minutes and giving Elon its biggest lead of the afternoon with 19 points. Hofstra whittled down the difference to 14 points at the end of the quarter behind four free throws by Sorelle Ineza and Tionna Baker.
 
After an early Elon free throw set the score at 52-37 to the Phoenix, Von Essen sparked a tremendous fourth quarter turnaround for the Pride with a 12 of Hofstra's 16 unanswered points in a 6:27 scoreless run for the Phoenix., and a pair of makes from the free throw line by Swint gave Hofstra its first lead since the second quarter with 2:20 remaining in regulation. Elon ended the run with a tough jumper by Adams with 54 seconds left, but Von Essen evened the score at 54-54 by making the backend of two free throws with 51 seconds left. Elon forced a Hofstra turnover with 11 seconds remaining and Adams drew a foul with one second left on the clock, scoring the game-winning free throw. Hofstra came down with a rebound on the second free throw, but there wasn't enough time to set up for the final shot before time expired.
 
Adams and Maraja Pass scored 12 points each to lead Elon in the win, and Adams led all players with 14 rebounds.
 
The Pride ends the month of January on the road in Virginia, first taking on William & Mary on Friday, January 26, from Williamsburg with a 7 p.m. tip-off.
 
NOTES:
-Von Essen's 23 points are the most scored by a Hofstra player against a Division I opponent this season.
-Hofstra held Elon to 27.8% from three-point range while shooting 41.7% from beyond the arc.
-The Pride's bench outscored Elon 21-15, but Elon finished with 31 points in the paint to Hofstra's 16.
-Hofstra falls to 4-15 all-time against Elon.