Elon, NC – Despite career-high scoring nights from Brooke Anya and Tionna Baker, the Hofstra women's basketball team suffered a 74-62 defeat to Elon in Thursday night CAA action from the Schar Center.
 
Hofstra drops to 9-19 and 3-14 in league play as the season winds down, and Elon moves to 11-19 and 7-10 in the CAA.
 
Anya posted 19 points against the Phoenix, and Baker finished the game with 10 for the Pride while leading the team with eight rebounds and tying for the team-lead with four assists.
 
Hofstra opened a 3-0 lead behind three Sorelle Ineza free throws, but Elon responded with nine unanswered points while keeping Hofstra off the board until Zyheima Swint converted a layup at 5:26. After back-and-forth points from the pride and the Phoenix, Hofstra cut the deficit to six with buckets by Baker and Selma Markisic, but a Ajia James basket in the final seconds set the score at 19-11 Elon.
 
Elon scored the first six points of the second quarter to balloon their lead to 14 two minutes into the quarter, but Hofstra rallied for an 11-3 run to make it a six-point difference with 5:02 remaining before halftime. Elon ended the quarter with a 14-7 run, including six unanswered points from the 2:28 mark until 1:13, giving Elon a 10-point advantage heading into the break.
 
Elon's lead grew to 17 points – its largest of the contest – with seven straight points to start the third quarter. The Phoenix maintained a double-digit lead over the Pride going into the fourth quarter with an 18-14 quarter. The Pride cut Elon's lead to seven points with a 9-2 start to the fourth quarter and with 6:08 left on the clock to continue the comeback effort. Unfortunately, that would be the closest Hofstra came to upending Elon, as the home side reeled off seven unanswered points to build its lead back to double-digits before the clock hits 0:00.
 
Iycez Adams finished with 20 points to lead all players in scoring.
 
The 2023-24 regular season concludes on Saturday, March 9, as the Pride travels to Greensboro to face North Carolina A&T at 2 p.m.
 
NOTES:
-Hofstra recorded 13 steals and forced Elon into 23 turnovers. Anya led the Pride with three steals.
-The Pride outscored Elon 40-34 in the paint and scored 19 points off of turnovers to Elon's 17.
-Hofstra's all-time record against Elon is now 4-16.