Hempstead, NY – The Hofstra women's basketball team led Towson by two going into the fourth quarter, but it was the Tigers who came out on top in a 63-51 win over the Pride from inside the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex Friday night.
 
Hofstra slips to 9-14 overall and 4-8 in the CAA with the loss, and Towson moves to 7-16 overall and 5-7 in league play.
 
Zyheima Swint led the Pride with 11 points, followed by Emma Von Essen with 10 points against the Tigers. Swint also led the team with four assists, while Ramatoulaye Keita posed 10 rebounds and two blocks.
 
After Towson jumped out to a 5-0 lead within the first three minutes of the contest, Hofstra settled in and responded with seven unanswered points thanks to Keita, Alarice Gooden, and a three by Sabrina Larsson with under four minutes left before the end of the quarter. Towson tied the game on a pair of free throws, but Hofstra rattled off another scoring run, this time scoring eight unanswered points off four Keita points, a two from Von Essen, and a Swint layup to lead 15-7. A floater by Towson with 16 second left put the score at 15-9 going into the second quarter.
 
Towson and Hofstra traded baskets inside the opening frame of the second quarter, with Hofstra's lead growing no larger than six points, before an 8-0 run lasting shy of two minutes. Points by Keita, Von Essen, and Ayen Angoi gave the Pride its biggest lead of the night at 14 points before Towson rallied with seven unanswered points of its own to bring the difference to seven points with 2:18 left before halftime. Hofstra entered the break sporting a nine-point lead over the Tigers.
 
An early basket by Swint put the margin back to double-digits, and a three by Von Essen gave Hofstra a 12-point lead two minutes into the third quarter. The Tigers responded with an 8-0 run to close the gap to four points before Micaela Carter made it a five-point game with a free throw at the 3:16 mark. Towson continued to claw back after Carter's free throw, scoring five points on its next three possessions to tie the score at 41-41. Larsson broke the deadlock with 24 seconds to go on an open layup, setting the score at 43-41 in favor of the hosts going into the final 10 minutes of the game.
 
Khady Leye gave Towson its first lead of the night since the four-minute mark of the first quarter with a three-pointer on the first shot of the fourth quarter. Alarice Gooden drove the lane and finished off the glass at 8:31 to allow Hofstra to retake the lead, and a Swint free throw at 8:07 put the difference at two. A layup by Swint at the 7:27 mark canceled out a jumper by Leye to keep it a two-point difference, but it would be the last time Hofstra would lead the game, as the Tigers rattled off 13 unanswered points in a span of nearly five minutes to take an 11-point lead over the Pride with 1:02 left in the game. A Carter three with 46 seconds left brought the Pride within eight, but Towson scored the final four points to secure the win.
 
India Johnston scored 15 points for the Tigers in the win.
 
Hofstra hits the road for its next CAA contest on Sunday, February 16, against Northeastern. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday.
 
NOTES:
-Hofstra's all-time record is now 38-42 against Towson. The loss snaps a two-game winning streak against the Tigers.
-Her two three-pointers against Towson gives Von Essen 192 for her career. She needs eight threes to become the fourth player in Hofstra women's basketball history with 200 threes for her career.
-Towson narrowly outshot Hofstra, 41.4% to 41.2%, for the game.