Playing their third game in six days, the women’s basketball team is still looking for their first win as they lost another final-quarter comeback attempt to Hofstra, 68-57. 

Junior guard Kendall Currence opened the scoring for NU with an easy layup assisted by senior guard Stella Clark, who ranks second among CAA players in assists per game (5.3). 

Early on, Hofstra seemed to read the minds of the Huskies on the court as they knew exactly where the ball was going, forcing turnovers and grabbing blocked shots and passes. With that being said, it was a low-scoring early quarter for both teams as the scoreboard read 5-4 with five minutes left in the first frame.

Pitt transfer junior guard Jahsyni Knight, who received automatic eligibility to play this season, was a force to be reckoned with, leading Hofstra on the court by forcing turnovers, nabbing assists and pouncing on passes to pick up steals. She played a direct hand in the 14-0 run that Hofstra had to end the quarter, 14-5.  

Mirroring the first quarter, Currence opened the scoring for the Huskies in the second. Sophomore forward Mide Oriyomi also added some life to the Huskies, passing three Pride players and dropping a layup of her own, 16-12. 

Both teams went scoreless for over four minutes, with NU missing all four of their field goal attempts within that time period. Hofstra outscored NU 18-12 for the quarter, ending the half on a buzzer-beater by redshirt senior Mikiyah Croskey.  

In another tough, score-dry quarter, sophomore guard Anna Boruta hit a triple for NU, sending the teams into the final frame with a score of 48-30. The Huskies had an uphill battle facing the claws of the Pride. 

In the final quarter, Clark and Boruta went back-to-back on much-needed triples cutting the lead down to only seven points with a little under six minutes left in the contest. This marked the closest score of the game since Hofstra’s opening run in the first frame. 

Uncharacteristically, graduate student Ayanna Dublin scored her first bucket with a little more than 5 minutes left in the game, bringing the slowly decreasing lead down to just five points. 

The Huskies could not finish the comeback as the Pride ended on a strong note, going on a 7-0 run over the last minute of the contest and both Clark and Dublin fouling out. 

Leading the game was sophomore forward Mide Oriyomi yet again with 17 points, adding five rebounds and a steal to her belt. Clark had 12 points, five rebounds and five assists. 

NU (0-5, 0-3 CAA) will head on the road to play the second game of the home-and-home series at Hofstra on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Hempstead.