HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. ? Joelle Connelly's jumper as time expired lifted Hofstra to a 57-55 victory over the Towson basketball team on Thursday evening in Hempstead, N.Y. The Tigers (9-5, 1-3 CAA) were paced by junior guard Shanae Baker-Brice who scored a game-high 21 points including the 1,000th of her career.

Coming out of the half tied at 26-26, Towson went on a 10-6 run to open up a 36-32 lead with 17:31 to play. The highlight of the run was Baker-Brice's three at 18:49 to give her 1,002 career points. She is the 14th player in school history to reach the mark and the third quickest to do so accomplishing the feat in just 75 games.

The two teams traded baskets with a lay-up by junior forward Kandace Davis at 12:06 giving the Tigers a 45-36 advantage. It was the Tigers' largest lead of the game. With the Tigers up 47-41 with 9:29 to play, Hofstra went on a 9-0 run to turn a six point deficit into a three point advantage. The two teams would trade free throws before a trey from sophomore guard Simona Petronyte at 5:40 tied the game at 51-51.

Hofstra would go back up on top, 53-51 with 4:46 to play. The Tigers got back-to-back buckets from Baker-Brice, the second of which came at 1:06 to take a 55-53 advantage. Jess Fuller would hit a pair of free throws with :46 to play setting the stage for Connelly's jumper.

The Tigers found themselves in an early hole in the first half as the Pride jumped out to a 10-3 lead with 15:15 to go in the first stanza. Sam Brigham had five points for the Pride during the early play. Connelly hit a jumper with 13:07 to play in the first half to put Hofstra up 14-3. It would be the Pride's largest lead of the game. The Tigers responded by scoring eight unanswered points including back-to-back threes by senior guard Alis Freeman and Baker-Brice. That run cut the visitors deficit to 14:11 with 11:26 to play. The two teams traded baskets over the next couple of minutes before back-to-back buckets by Connelly pushed the hosts lead back to nine at 24-15 with 7:33 to play. Towson closed the half on an 11-2 run to make it a tie game as both teams headed to the locker room. Petronyte had five and Baker-Brice chipped in with four during that stretch.

Towson finished the game shooting 41.4% from the floor including 52.2% in the second half. The Tigers hit a season-high six three-pointers in the contest and finished with 16 steals to the Pride's seven.

In addition to her 21 points, Baker-Brice contributed four assists and a career-high eight steals. Petronyte finished with 11 points while junior forward Katrina Wheeler contributed six points and a team-high nine rebounds. Sophomore forward Dovile Miliauskaite had five rebounds and four steals for the Tigers.

Hofstra shot 40.4% from the floor and 63.6% from the free throw line. The Pride won the battle on the boards by a 42-32 margin.

Connelly finished with 16 points and three blocked shots for the Pride. Fuller contributed a “double-double” with 12 points and 10 rebounds while Niki Williams also had a “double-double” with 10 points and 11 assists.

The Tigers return to action on Sunday, January 18 when they return home to host UNC Wilmington at 2 p.m. That game will be televised by Comcast SportsNet, it will also by the Tigers day to participate in the WBCA's “Pink Zone” and Girl Scout Day.

-- TIGERS --