New Haven, CT – Sandra Magolico had herself a career night from inside the John J. Lee Amphitheater and a strong fourth quarter defensive showing powered the Hofstra women's basketball team to its first win of the 2025-26 season, downing Yale 73-66.
 
In only her second game in a Hofstra uniform, Magolico posted personal-bests in scoring and rebounding with 25 points and 13 boards versus the Bulldogs, while Alarice Gooden finished the game with 15 points, and Micaela Carter posted 12 points for the victors. Ema Karim also finished with eight points and six assists for Hofstra.
 
Hofstra led 23-21 over Yale after an exciting first quarter that featured six lead changes, but Yale opened with the first five points of the second quarter to take a three-point lead. Karim tied the score at 26-26 with her second three pointer of the night, and a Gooden bucket at 7:35 put the Pride back in front by two. Yale's Ke'iara Odume evened the score with a fast break jumper, but Hofstra scored four unanswered points on a pair of Carter free throws and a fast break layup by Ayen Angoi with 5:39 left before halftime. A Magolico layup off a Yale giveaway put the difference at five with 4:18 to play, but two-pointers by Kiley Capstraw and Ciniya Moore closed the difference to one at the 3:00 mark. Threes by Gooden and Moore kept the margin at one point, but Carter sunk two from the stripe to widen the gap to three with 1:16 to play. A Gooden layup as time expired canceled out a layup from Odume to put the halftime score at 41-38 to Hofstra.
 
Hofstra came out of the break firing with seven points – five by Magolico – in its first three possessions of the third quarter to lead by 10. Yale cut the lead to six with 5:48 left in the quarter before Gooden scored an and-one to make it a difference of nine. Trailing by nine with 3:28 left on the clock, Yale ended the third quarter on an 8-1 run to close the gap to two heading into the fourth quarter.
 
Capstraw tied the score twice inside the first three minutes of the fourth quarter with four points, but Magolico converted a contested layup at 6:29 to give the Pride a 62-60 advantage. The two teams traded baskets on the next three possessions, putting the score at 64-64 with 4:12 to play following another basket by Capstraw. A tough layup by Magolico, followed by a free throw from Carter, gave the Pride a three-point cushion with 2:23 remaining. Luisa Vydrova brought the Bulldogs to within one with a layup with 68 seconds left in regulation, but the Bulldogs turned the ball over with 37 seconds remaining and Gooden sunk a layup off the glass with 23 seconds left on the clock. Free throws by Micaela Carter and Emma Von Essen inside the final 15 seconds iced the game for the Pride.
 
Capstraw led Yale with 19 points, and she and Vydrova paced the Bulldogs with nine rebounds each.
 
Hofstra opens its home schedule on Saturday, November 15, against Penn at 1 p.m. The game will air on FloCollege and MSG Network.
 
NOTES:
-Hofstra is now 7-6 all-time against Yale. This is Hofstra's first win at Yale since December 8, 1999.
-The Pride outrebounded Yale, 35-31.
-Hofstra forced Yale into committing 21 turnovers.
-With a three-pointer, Von Essen now has 208 for her career. She is tied with Nicole Capurso (208, 2008-12) for the third-most threes in Hofstra women's basketball history.