Bethlehem, PA – Emma Von Essen and Chloe Sterling both finished in double-figures for scoring, but the Hofstra women's basketball team suffered an 80-61 defeat versus Lehigh from Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
 
Hofstra slips to 2-3 with the loss, and Lehigh's record improves to 4-1.
 
Von Essen scored a season-high 17 points on 6-15 shooting and a season-high four three-pointers, while Sterling chipped in with 10 points against the Mountain Hawks. Zyheima Swint led all players in Friday's game with 12 rebounds while scoring four points and recording two blocks, and Sabrina Larsson added seven points and five rebounds off the bench.
 
Lehigh jumped out to a five-point lead inside the first five minutes of the opening quarter. LaNae' Corbett made it a three-point difference with a second chance layup at 4:45. Lehigh scored six unanswered points to lead by nine at the 1:09 mark, but a layup from Sterling put the score at 15-8 Lehigh after one quarter.
 
Hofstra clawed back with back-to-back threes from Von Essen, making it a three-point game with 8:33 remaining in the second quarter. A basket in the paint by Lehigh's Maddie Albrecht put the score at 19-14, but Von Essen sunk her third-consecutive three of the quarter, and Janaia Fargo tied the game with a long two before the media timeout. Corbett gave the Pride a two-point lead off a second chance bucket, but Lehigh retook the lead with five straight points. The Pride evened the difference to one point twice on buckets by Sterling at 5:57 and Swint at 4:47, but Ella Stemmer connected on threes on consecutive Lehigh possessions to up its lead to seven. Lehigh would score four of the final eight points in the quarter to lead Hofstra, 36-29, at halftime.
 
The Mountain Hawks outscored Hofstra, 21-9, in the third quarter to lead by double-digits going into the fourth and final quarter. Threes from Fargo and Von Essen, plus a fadeaway jumper by Swint and a Larsson basket, brought the Pride to within 12 of the home side, but it would be as close as Hofstra camr to retaking the lead.
 
Albrecht led all players with 19 points in the contest, and Lily Fandre and Meghan O'Brien led the Mountain Hawks with six rebounds each.
 
Hofstra's four-game road trip continues with a trip to the Sunshine State to face Jacksonville on Saturday, November 30. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. against the Dolphins.
 
NOTES:
-Hofstra outrebounded Lehigh, 41-38. The Pride have outrebounded their opponents in four out of five games this season.
-Lehigh outshot Hofstra, 44% (22-50) to 33.3% (24-72).
- Von Essen moves into sole possession of eighth for the most three-pointers in a Hofstra women's basketball career with 146 threes. She is now two away from tying and three from passing Kelly Loftus (148, 2013-16) for seventh.
-With two blocks tonight, Swint has 99 for her career. She moves into eighth on the all-time standings for blocks in Hofstra women's basketball history. Swint is one away from 100 blocks in a career and is three away from matching Ashuane Durant (102, 2014-18) and Betsy Lange (102, 1988-92) for seventh-most in program-history.
-Hofstra's all-time record against Lehigh now stands at 10-14.