Hempstead, NY – LaNae' Corbett announced herself to the Hofstra faithful with a double-double and Chloe Sterling scored a career-high 18 points in their Pride debuts, but the Hofstra women's basketball team started the 2024-25 season with a 63-58 defeat to Sacred Heart from the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex.
 
A freshman from Upper Marlboro, Maryland, Corbett tallied 15 points and pulled down 13 rebounds in her college debut, while Sterling added six rebounds, three assists, and a pair of steals for the Pride. Sabrina Larsson came off the bench and tallied five points, three rebounds, and three assists for the home team.
 
The Pioneers opened up a six-point lead over the Pride at the 1:21 mark of the first quarter before the hosts whittled the lead down to three with a Larsson free throw and a pair of baskets from the charity stripe by Sterling, setting the score at 17-14 in favor of Sacred Heart after one quarter. Following a two to open the second quarter, Hofstra took its first lead of the game at 6:08 with a 10-2 run, with Sterling responsible for eight of the points during the run lasting until the 4:01 mark. Hofstra held Sacred Heart at bay following the run, with free throws by Corbett and Zyheima Swint and two-pointers from Sterling and Ramatoulaye Keita giving Hofstra a four-point lead at the 1:11 mark, but the Pioneers scored the final four points of the quarter to tie the score at 30-30 going into halftime.
 
Hofstra exploded out of the break with a 10-2 run lasting just shy of three minutes and featuring buckets from Swint, Corbett, Sterling, and Emma Von Essen to put the Pride ahead by eight. Sacred Heart retook the lead with a run of 11 unanswered points, giving the guests a four-point lead with 3:03 remaining in the third quarter. The Pride broke the run with a pull-up jumper from Sterling, and Alarice Gooden knocked down a three at 1:31 to give the Pride a one-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
 
The Pride's lead grew to 10 points – the largest lead for either side in Monday's season-opener – with four points from Sterling, a three by Larsson, and a tough layup by Corbett inside the first three minutes of the final frame. Hofstra's lead didn't last, however, as Sacred Heart went on a 10-0 run to tie the score at 54-54 with 3:34 still to play.
 
Pryor led all players with 21 points in Monday's contest, while Emma Kirby finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds for the double-double.
 
Hofstra heads to the Garden State on Friday, November 8, for a 6 p.m. tip-off versus NJIT.
 
NOTES:
-Corbett is the first Hofstra women's basketball player to score a double-double in their Hofstra debut since Brandy Thomas posted 16 points and 11 rebounds against Rutgers on November 7, 2022.
-Sacred Heart shot 24-59 from the floor to Hofstra's 23-60.
-The Pride outrebounded Sacred Heart, 42-35.
-Sacred Heart leads the all-time series, 4-3, over Hofstra. This is the fourth consecutive win for the Pioneers against the Pride.