NO. 10 HOFSTRA’S MAGICAL RUN CONTINUES WITH 53-49 OVERTIME VICTORY OVER DREXEL
Ben Kane
HIGHLIGHTS |
PHOTO GALLERY |
PRESS CONFERENCE – HOFSTRA |
PRESS CONFERENCE - DREXEL
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 14, 2026) –Tenth-seeded Hofstra’s magical run through the Credit Union 1 CAA Women’s Basketball Championship continued on Saturday as the Pride knocked off No. 3 Drexel, 53-49 in overtime in the semifinals at CareFirst Arena.
The Pride (11-21), who became the lowest seeded team to ever reach the semifinals following their win over No. 2 Campbell on Friday, will now meet No. 1 Charleston in the CAA title game at 2 p.m. on Sunday. It’s Hofstra’s first appearance in the CAA championship game since 2015. Drexel dropped to 21-10 after the loss.
Ema Karim was the lone Hofstra player in double digits, scoring 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor and 3-of-4 from three. Chloe Sterling chipped in nine points and five assists for the Pride.
For Drexel, guard Amaris Baker poured in a game-high 19 points and Deja Evans recorded a double-double with 15 points and a team-high 11 rebounds.
Hofstra trailed by two with nine seconds left in regulation, but Sterling came up with a steal on an inbounds pass, pushed the ball down the court and found Sandra Magolico open for a layup with three seconds to go that sent the contest to overtime at 44-44.
After falling behind by two early in the extra session, the Pride went on a 7-0 run as Karim and Alarice Gooden hit jumpers and Magolico came up big again, converting a three-point play that made it 51-46 with 44 seconds remaining. Karim sealed the victory with a pair of free throws down the stretch.
The teams played to a draw through the game’s opening five minutes, but Hofstra built a five-point lead (14-9) on Nevaeh Brown’s jumper and was up 14-11 after one quarter.
The Pride quickly extended its advantage to eight (19-11) on a Sterling trey and a jumper in the lane by Magolico with 7:05 to go in the half. However, those would be Hofstra’s last points in the stanza, as Drexel put together an 11-0 surge to take a 22-19 lead into halftime. Evans converted a pair of layups during the run and Julia Garcia Roig hit a jumper in the lane to put the Dragons ahead by three.
Drexel took its biggest of the game, 32-25, with 4:06 remaining in the third quarter following back-to-back three-pointers from Baker. The Pride was able to trim the deficit to three (34-31) heading into the fourth quarter after a Sterling jumper in the final minute.
The contest remained tight throughout the fourth quarter, with Drexel moving ahead, 44-40, on a Baker layup with 1:56 left. A Sana’a Garrett layup brought layup brought Hofstra within two, setting the stage for Magolico’s game-tying bucket.