Williamsburg, VA – The Hofstra women's basketball team and William & Mary squared off for the second time in January, and once again the Tribe earned the win over the Pride by way of a 61-50 scoreline from the Kaplan Center in Friday CAA action.
 
Hofstra slips to 7-10 overall and 1-5 in league action, while William & Mary improves to 9-9 overall and 5-2 against CAA opponents.
 
Emma Von Essen posted a team-best 13 points in the defeat, while Tionna Baker scored nine points, and Sorelle Ineza and Selma Markisic finished with nine points each. Brooke Anya recorded eight rebounds to lead the Pride, and Micaela Carter dished out three assists.
 
After William & Mary led 8-3 inside the first five minutes of the opening quarter, Hofstra scored seven straight points with Baker and Ineza field goals and a three from Von Essen to lead the Tribe inside the final two minutes of the quarter. Cassidy Geddes evened the score on a fast-break jumper with two seconds left to set the score at 10-10.
 
The Tribe led by four after a pair of three-pointers to open the second quarter, but back-to-back Hofstra twos by Von Essen and Markisic evened the score at 16-all with 6:33 on the clock. The Pride scored four straight points on a Zyheima Swint layup and a pair of Anya free throws, and traded baskets with the Tribe to maintain their three-point advantage until the Tribe ended the quarter on a 4-0 run to lead by one at the halftime break.
 
William & Mary upped its lead to three out of the break, but Swint and Baker cashed in on two-pointers to make it a 28-27 lead for the guests. After William & Mary retook the lead following the media timeout at 5:40, Hofstra rattled off a 6-2 run to lead by two after Von Essen connected from beyond the arc at 3:28. The teams traded two-pointers inside the final three minutes, setting the score at 36-36 entering the final 10 minutes of the contest.
 
Hofstra and William & Mary each scored four points to keep the score tied at 40-all before Baker tallied a tough layup at 5:38 to give Hofstra the lead. William & Mary tallied five points in the span of 36 seconds to lead by three before Swint muscled inside and converted a layup with 4:19 remaining to bring the Pride to within one, but it would be the closest Hofstra would get to retaking the lead as the Tribe scored eight unanswered points for its largest lead up to that point. Ineza cut the lead to six points with her first three of the night, but eight of the final 11 points of the contest belonged to William & Mary.
Geddes finished as the only William & Mary player in double figures with 22 points, and Kayla Beckwith led the home side with eight rebounds.
 
Hofstra's two-game Virginia trip concludes on Sunday with a 2 p.m. tip-off against Hampton.
 
NOTES:
-Hofstra outrebounded William & Mary, 33-28.
-The lead changed nine times and the score was tied seven times between the Pride and the Tribe.
-William & Mary has won the last five meetings against the Pride since 2021.