Hempstead, NY – The Hofstra women's basketball team honored its departing senior class in the game from the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex for the 2025-26 season with a 70-56 defeat to Drexel.
 
Hofstra now sits at 7-21 overall and 5-12 in CAA action, and Drexel improves to 20-8 overall and 13-4 in league play with its sixth consecutive win.
 
Emma Von Essen paced the Pride with 14 points in the final home game of her collegiate career, while Michaela Hodge posted nine points, four rebounds, and two blocks in 13 minutes off the bench. Hodge, Von Essen, Alarice Gooden, and Sandra Magolico all tied for the team lead in rebounding with four each, and Chloe Sterling dished out a team-best four assists.
 
The Dragons took a commanding 24-2 lead over the Pride after the first quarter. Von Essen connected on her first three of the night 33 seconds into the start of the second quarter, and she connected on a jumper at 7:50. Sterling and Von Essen found the bottom of the hoop on pull up jumpers after the 4:43 media timeout, and Hodge scored the first of her nine points with 29 seconds left, before Drexel's Amaris Baker beat the halftime buzzer on a long two to put the score at 39-17 to the Dragons.
 
The Drexel lead grew to as large as 28 points with 4:32 left in the third quarter before the Pride whittled away at the deficit with five straight points on a Von Essen three and a 2-2 trip to the free throw line by Hodge. After a three by Júlia Garcia Roig at 2:13, Hofstra ended the quarter on a 7-3 spurt to trail 60-38. Von Essen continued the scoring into the fourth quarter with a turnaround jumper before Drexel's Laine McGurk sunk a three on the very next possession. Sana'a Garrett sparked an 8-3 Hofstra run with a driving layup at the 8:19 mark to bring the deficit under 20 points. Hofstra clawed back to within 14 with a run of six unanswered points by Garrett, Sterling, and Ayen Angoi before Drexel kept Hofstra scoreless for the final 2:17.
 
McGurk led all players with 15 points, followed by Baker with 13 points, and Molly Rullo was the leading rebounder with seven.
 
The Pride makes the trip to Massachusetts to close out the regular season against Northeastern on Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
NOTES:
-Prior to tonight's game, the Hofstra women's basketball program honored departing seniors Nevaeh Brown, Sandra Magolico, Deivejon Harris, Ayen Angoi, Alarice Gooden, Chloe Sterling, and Emma Von Essen in a pregame Senior Day ceremony.
-Von Essen's two blocks are a new single-game high, and Hodge tied her career-high of two blocks originally set against Miami on November 3.
-Drexel tied Kentucky for the most three-pointers converted against Hofstra in a game this season with 11.
-Hofstra is now 32-52 all-time against Drexel. This is the 14th win over the Pride in the last 15 meetings for the Dragons.