Hampton, VA – The Hofstra women's basketball team shot 46.7% from the floor and erased a five-point fourth quarter deficit with seven minutes left in the game to win 53-47 on the road against Hampton in a pivotal late-season Coastal Athletic Association matchup.
 
Hofstra's win from the HU Convocation Center improves the Pride to 11-15 overall and 6-9 in league play, and Hampton drops to 6-20 overall and 2-13 against conference opponents.
 
Janaia Fargo had herself a career night against the Pirates, scoring 20 points and pulling down six rebounds while recording an assist and a steal in the win. Zyheima Swint paced the Pride with nine of the team's 48 total rebounds while chipping in with eight points, and Ramatoulaye Keita finished with seven points, eight rebounds, and a pair of blocks.
 
After a slow start offensively from both outfits, Sabrina Larsson scored the opening bucket on a three at 6:49, followed by a Keita layup after a Hampton jumper to make it a three-point Hofstra lead at the 5:41 mark. Hofstra's lead grew to as large as seven points in the first quarter, but the Pirates ended the quarter on a 5-0 run while holding the Pride scoreless for over two minutes to trail 11-9.
 
Hampton continued its scoring run into the second quarter, scoring the first five points of the frame and going on an 8-2 burst to take a 17-13 lead four minutes into the action. Keita ended the Pride's scoring drought with a free throw at 5:16, and Emma Von Essen cashed in a jumper at 3:46 for the Pride's first field goal since the 2:17 mark of the first quarter. A driving layup by Keita with 1:29 left before halftime brought the visitors to within one, but a Hampton three on the very next possession put the score at 22-18 to the Pirates at the break.
 
The lead for the hosts grew to nine points after scoring the third quarter's opening five points, putting the score at 27-18 in favor of Hampton, before Hofstra broke the run with a three from Alarice Gooden at 7:49. Hofstra chipped away at Hampton's lead, with four points from Fargo to bring Hofstra to within four. A three at 4:46 made it a seven-point Hampton lead, but Hofstra rattled off a 7-0 run, beginning with a three from Von Essen at 3:39 and capped off with a tying three at the 2:20 mark by Fargo, but Hampton pulled ahead with a free throw at 1:31 to lead by one going into the fourth quarter.
 
Hampton pulled ahead by five with a pair of baskets inside the opening minute of the fourth, but a pair of twos by Von Essen and Fargo brought it back to a one-point margin with 9:04 still to play. Hampton grew its lead back to five with seven minutes to go in regulation, but the Hofstra defense stepped up to hold Hampton scoreless for over three minutes while the Pride offense scored six points thanks to threes by Gooden and Fargo. A fast break layup at 4:09 allowed Hampton to retake the lead, but Fargo drove the lane and converted a layup at the 3:40 mark to put the Pride back in front for good. Swint scored a second-chance layup with 1:59 left to widen the margin to three before a Hampton jumper with 43 seconds remaining made it a one-score game. After a Hofstra timeout with 40 seconds left, Swint collected her fourth offensive rebound of the night on a Von Essen miss, and the graduate student center scored on a nimble layup to make it a three-point game with 25 seconds remaining  in regulation. The Pride iced the game with a Swint free throw at 10 seconds and a pair of shots from the charity stripe by Fargo.
 
Jasha Clinton scored 13 points to lead Hampton, and Aisha Dabo finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Hofstra stays in Virginia for its next game; a 1 p.m. tip-off against William & Mary on Sunday, March 2.
 
NOTES:
-The series record is now tied at 3-3 between Hofstra and Hampton.
-Hofstra committed 14 turnovers against Hampton. The Pride was averaging 27.4 turnovers in five previous meeting against the Pirates.
-Von Essen finished the game with one three-pointer, putting her at 196 for her career. She needs four more to become just the fourth player in program history with 200 career threes.
-The Pride limited Hampton to just two three-pointers on 13 attempts, marking the fifth time this season Hofstra held an opponent to two or fewer threes in a game.
-Hofstra outrebounded Hampton 48-43 with 21 offensive rebounds. It's the second time this season Hofstra pulled down over 20 offensive rebounds.