Hempstead, NY – The Hofstra women's basketball team handed Campbell a loss in its first trip to the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex as members of the Coastal Athletic Association, as the Pride earned a 55-47 win over the visiting Fighting Camels.
 
Hofstra moves to 9-8 overall and 4-2 in the CAA following Friday night's win, and Campbell slips to 10-8 overall and 3-3 in league play. Hofstra snaps Campbell's three-game winning streak with Friday's result.
 
Emma Von Essen paced the Pride with 16 points as one of three to finish in double figures. Chloe Sterling scored 15 points for the home side, with nine of those points coming in the fourth quarter, while adding eight rebounds, and Zyheima Swint finished with 10 points over the Fighting Camels. Ramatoulaye Keita continued her hot start in CAA play with a game-high 14 rebounds and the Pride's lone block in the win.
 
Campbell jumped out to a three-point lead following an opening layup from Swint. Von Essen connected on the first of her four three-pointers at 5:56 to even the score before Gianni Boone put the Fighting Camels ahead with a close-range jumper before the media timeout, and a free throw by Ciara Alexander gave the guests a three-point advantage with 4:41 left in the first quarter. Keita brought the Pride to within one with a looping hook shot at 2:11, but Campbell scored four of the last five points inside the final two minutes to lead by four.
 
Trailing by four early in the second, two-pointers by Von Essen and Swint evened the score at 14-all before the 7:24 media timeout, and a pair of Sterling free throws put the Pride in front by two at the 6:08 mark. Campbell responded with seven unanswered points to jump out to a five-point lead with 3:35 to play before halftime, but Hofstra went on a 7-0 run of their own to retake the lead thanks to two-point baskets by Sterling and Swint and a contested three from Von Essen. Campbell tied the score at 23-23 at 1:15, but Janaia Fargo scored on a driving layup with 51 seconds remaining to give the Pride a narrow lead heading into the break.
 
Five quick points by the Fighting Camels gave the guests a three-point lead over the Pride inside the first minute of the third quarter, but a layup by Von Essen at 7:52 sparked Hofstra to a run of eight unanswered points lasting just over four minutes until Alexander connected on a layup at 3:45 for Campbell to make it a three-point game. Alexander's basket opened up a run of five unanswered points to tie the score at 33-33, but back-to-back Von Essen threes inside the final 45 seconds gave the Pride a 39-33 advantage to end the quarter.
 
Campbell tied the game at 39-39 with a 6-0 run to begin the fourth quarter before Sterling stopped the run with a driving layup at 7:33. Campbell's Gemma Núñez tied the score again at 5:21 with a pull-up jumper, but Sterling drove the lane and rolled in a layup on the very next possession, keying a run of eight unanswered points for the Pride in a span of just under three minutes to give the hosts an eight-point lead with 2:09 to play in regulation. Campbell cut the Pride's lead to four with 50 seconds remaining, but Hofstra went 6-6 at the line inside the final 20 seconds to see off the Fighting Camels.
 
Boone led Campbell in scoring with 10 points, and Audrey Fuller pulled down a team-best 11 rebounds.
 
Hofstra's homestretch continues on Sunday, January 26, with a 1 p.m. contest against league-leading North Carolina A&T. For ticket information visit HofstraTickets.com, call (516) HOF-TIXX, or visit the Hofstra Athletics Ticket Office in the lobby of the Mack Sports Complex during normal business hours.
 
NOTES:
-This was only the third-ever meeting in women's basketball between Hofstra and Campbell, and the Pride leads the all-time series at 2-1.
-With four three-pointers against Campbell, Von Essen passes Ana Hernandez Gil (177, 2016-20) for fifth in school history for made threes with 179. She now needs seven to match and eight to pass Tonya Yandrisevitz (186, 1989-93) for fourth.
-Despite both teams recording 18 field goals each, Hofstra shot 32.1% from the floor to Campbell's 31.6%.
-Hofstra improved to 3-0 this season when three players score in double figures.
-Keita has led or tied for the team-lead in rebounding in five of Hofstra's six CAA games.