Hempstead, NY – Behind a balanced scoring attack and a 47-27 rebounding difference, the Hofstra women's basketball team closed out Winter Homecoming weekend with a satisfying 75-59 victory over visiting Hampton from inside the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex.
 
The win puts Hofstra at 4-18 overall and 2-9 in the CAA, snapping an eight-game losing streak for Pride, while Hampton slips to 9-14 overall and 3-8 in conference play.
 
Four members of the Pride finished in double figures against the Pirates, with Nevaeh Brown leading the way with 17 points on 7-11 shooting, including a three pointer, and 2-2 from the free throw line. Chloe Sterling and Micaela Carter both scored 15 points on Sunday, with Sterling going 5-11 from the floor, including 1-2 from beyond the arc, and 4-4 from the stripe, with a career-high eight assists and eight rebounds, and Carter knocking down four field goals, two threes, and five free throws. Emma Von Essen connected on five field goals – four from three-point range – for 14 points while adding four rebounds and a block. In rebounding, Sterling led the way with eight, while Carter pulled down a team-leading four offensive rebounds.
 
Hampton took a quick 4-2 lead early in the first quarter before Hofstra pulled in front for good, rattling off eight unanswered points off a jumper by Sterling, a three from Brown, and a three by Ema Karim to lead 10-4 at the 6:19 media timeout. The Pirates closed the gap to two with a 6-2 rally out of the break, but a fast break layup by Ayen Angoi at 3:55 ended the Hampton run and sparked a 6-0 surge for the hosts to take an eight-point lead. Hampton battled back with four points inside the final three minutes, but baskets from Von Essen and Michaela Hodge helped the Pride to an eight-point lead at the end of the quarter.
 
Hofstra's lead ballooned to 15 with a 7-0 rally to open the second quarter before Hampton ended the scoring drought with a free throw at 7:30, but Hofstra continued the scoring with a run of eight unanswered points to pull ahead by 22 by the 3:45 mark of the quarter. Hampton finally scored its first field goal of the quarter at 3:35 on a three by Taylor Gibson, but Von Essen answered right back for the Pride with a three on the next offensive possession to make it a 40-18 scoreline. The Pirates ended the quarter with a 7-2 run to trail by 17 at halftime.
 
Hampton scored five of the first six points in the third quarter before Carter went 2-2 at the line at 8:28 to put Hofstra's lead at 15. An 8-4 Hampton rally before the media timeout at 6:46 put the score at 49-38, but Hofstra came out of the break and hit back-to-back threes courtesy of Brown at 6:14 and Sterling at 4:27 to lead by 17. The Pirates pulled to within 10 with a run of seven unanswered points to end the third quarter.
 
Hampton brought the deficit to single digits for the first time since 19 seconds remained in the second quarter with a Kayla Lezama free throw seconds into the furth quarter, but Brown responded with a pull-up jumper out of a Hofstra timeout at 9:34 to spark a 12-3 Pride run to build the lead back to 18 with 5:43 to play. Hampton responded with the next seven points to trail by 11 with 2:45 left in regulation, but Hofstra recovered and ended the game on an 8-3 run to seal the win.
 
Lezama was Hampton's leading scorer with 17 points, followed by Gibson with 14.
 
Hofstra heads to North Carolina for its next set of contests, beginning with a matchup against Campbell on February 13 at 7 p.m.
 
NOTES:
-Hofstra improves to 4-3 all-time against Hampton. Today was Hofstra's first home win over Hampton in the series.
-Sterling is the first Hofstra player to record eight assists in a game since Jahsyni Knight achieved the feat against Northeastern on February 19, 2022.
-The 42 first half points are the most scored by Hofstra this season.
-The Pride's 47 rebounds are a season-high, and the nine threes ties a season-high set against Penn on November 15.
-Von Essen's four threes against Hampton puts her at 229 for her career. She needs one to tie and two to pass Jen Brickey (230, 1999-03) for second-most in Hofstra women's basketball history.