VON ESSEN’S LATE 3-POINTER LIFTS HOFSTRA TO 72-71 WIN OVER TOWSON
Ben Kane
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PRESS CONFERENCE – HOSTRA |
PRESS CONFERENCE - TOWSON
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 12, 2026) – Emma Von Essen’s three-pointer with 2.4 seconds to play lifted No. 10 Hofstra to a 72-71 win over No. 7 Towson in the second round of the Credit Union 1 CAA Women’s Basketball Championship on Thursday evening at CareFirst Arena.
The Pride (9-21) will play in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2024 against No. 2 Campbell on Friday at 6 p.m. Towson’s season ended with a 17-14 record.
Von Essen was efficient on the day, shooting 6-of-10 from the field with a pair of treys for 14 points. Her teammate, Chloe Sterling, paced the Pride with 17 points alongside seven assists. India Johnston scored a game-high 21 points for Towson.
With Hofstra trailing 71-69 and the clock winding down, Von Essen caught the ball and took just one dribble before knocking down an off-balance step-back trey. Towson had a final possession, but the shot was off the mark as the buzzer sounded.
Hofstra got off to a hot start, compiling a 6-0 run through the first minute and a half. Within 22 seconds of the tipoff, Sandra Magolico had already scored the first points of the matchup, before Micaela Carter drained a 3-pointer the very next possession.
Despite leveling the game twice in the first quarter, the Tigers found themselves trailing by six in the second frame. Momentum swung not from a scoring stretch, but an emphatic block by Towson’s Kayla Morris with 7:30 on the clock. Feeding off the energy from the defensive stop, Towson slowly began to chip away at the Pride’s lead and reversed the scoreline to carry a five-point advantage, 34-29, into the second half.
Hofstra’s Alarice Gooden and Carter came out of the break in great scoring form combining for a 9-4 stretch from distance to re-knot the contest in the space of a minute and a half. For the remainder of the game, neither team led for more than two possessions, with one of the largest leads coming in the final seconds. Holding a 68-67 advantage over Hofstra with 1:35 on the clock, Johnston converted a three-point play to put her team up four.
Combined with a pair of free throws from Sterling and a strong defensive possession, Hofstra found itself within two points with 48 seconds to play. Von Essen substituted in for the final possession and created space from distance to knock down the winner.
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