Big Fourth Quarter Leads Hofstra Past Women's Hoops, 71-55

Hofstra used a 25-to-2 run sparked by six three-pointers in the fourth quarter to come from behind for a 71-55 win over the UMass women's basketball team on Wednesday evening at the Mack Sports Complex.

The loss drops the Minutewomen to 4-5 overall for the season, while the Pride improve to 5-3 overall. UMass will return to action on Saturday afternoon (2 p.m.) at the Mullins Center against Bryant. The first 100 fans in the doors will receive a free Unite The Masses t-shirt.

Maggie Mulligan led UMass with 16 points and 13 rebounds for her eighth consecutive double-double. Ryan Holder added 12 points while Hailey Leidel scored 10 points.

Hofstra had four players in double-figures led by Ana Hernandez Gil who scored 18 points on six three pointers. She led the Pride in the fourth quarter scoring 14 of her 18 points. Ashunae Durant had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, while Aleana Leon netted 14 points.

The Minutewomen led for the first three periods taking a 48-41 lead into the fourth quarter. The Pride outscored UMass 30-7 in the final stanza.

The first quarter saw a back-and-forth start between the two teams before the Minutewomen closed the stanza on an 8-to-0 run. A Leidel three tied the game at 12 before a pair of Holder free throws, a Mulligan jumper and a Leah McDerment free throw game UMass a 17-12 lead going into the second.

A 9-to-1 run latter part of the second quarter extended UMass' lead to 29-17 capped by another Leidel three-pointer. Hofstra, however, cut the lead back to single digits behind back-to-back three-pointers from Hernandez Gil. McDerment hit one of two free throws with three seconds to go before halftime. Hofstra collected the rebound on the missed second free throw, but threw the ball out of bounds. George received the inbounds pass before launching a three from the top of the key as the buzzer sounded giving the Minutewomen a 33-23 lead at intermission.

Coming out of halftime, the Pride put together a 9-to-2 run sparked by five points from Karsten. A Sydni Epps lay-up at the 6:33 mark forced a UMass timeout after Hofstra pulled within three, 35-32.

Following the timeout, the Minutewomen went on a 10-to-1 run of their own to push the lead back to double-figures, 45-33, with 2:24 to go. The Pride hit a pair of three-pointers in the final two minutes of the stanza to cut the lead to seven, 48-41, going into the fourth.

The fourth quarter again saw a fast start by Hofstra which hit four consecutive three pointers, including three by Hernandez Gil, giving the Pride a 53-50 lead with 6:21 to go.

Alyx Stiff scored her first basket of the season for UMass' first points of the fourth quarter, but the Pride came back with another three-pointer on the ensuing possession.

Hernandez Gil added another three-pointer with 3:42 to go giving Hofstra a 61-52 lead on her fourth triple of the quarter effectively putting the game out of reach.

Scoreboard

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Team Stats

Maggie Mulligan

Ryan Holder

Hailey Leidel

Leah McDerment

Players Mentioned

Ryan Holder

Hailey Leidel

Leah McDerment

Maggie Mulligan

Alyx Stiff

Players Mentioned

Ryan Holder

Hailey Leidel

Leah McDerment

Maggie Mulligan

Alyx Stiff

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics