Junior guard Niki Williams and freshman forward Britné Rodgers each established new career-highs with 23 points, but Hofstra was unable to overcome 32 turnovers as they dropped a 77-70 decision to Southern Methodist at the Mack Sports Complex on Friday afternoon.
Williams added five assists and a game-high five steals, while Rodgers had a game-high seven rebounds for Hofstra, which fell to 2-7 with its sixth straight loss. SMU, which has won nine of its last 10, improved to 9-2 with the victory.
An early 5-0 deficit in the first half was erased by the Pride as the home squad strung together nine straight points to lead 9-5 with 17:21 left in the opening stanza. Williams got the run started with a three-pointer and sophomore guard Sam Brigham's first bucket of the game gave Hofstra the four-point advantage. With the Pride leading, SMU used a 12-2 run to take a 17-11 lead as Janielle Dodds had six points in the early going of the first half to assist in the Mustangs offensive attack.
With SMU ahead 29-26, the visitors used an 8-0 run to take their largest lead of the half at 37-26 on a Brittany Gilliam lay-up with 2:02 left before halftime.
Despite shooting 12-24 (50%) from the field in the opening twenty minutes, Hofstra went into the break trailing 41-31 as the Pride committed 22 first half turnovers. Dodds had 16 points for the Mustangs in the half to offset 13 first half points from Pride senior forward Linn Quamme.
The Mustangs would open up as much as a 13-point lead in the second half on a pair of occasions before Hofstra began to mount a comeback. With SMU leading 52-39 after a jumper from Delisha Wills at the 13:26 mark, Hofstra would score the next nine points in the contest to cut the deficit to four (52-48) following a layup from Rodgers with 10:37 left in regulation.
After Elbie Gates ended the Pride run, a Williams three-pointer with 9:21 left got Hofstra within three (54-51), marking the closest Hofstra had been in the game since 5:06 was left in the first half and the Pride trailed 29-26.
Southern Methodist would gradually pull away after Hofstra closed the gap to three as a quick 6-0 spurt allowed the Mustangs to open a 60-51 lead with 8:05 left. The seven-point final deficit would be as close as Hofstra would get the remainder of the contest in the Pride's final home game of 2007.
Quamme finished with 15 point and six rebounds for the Pride, while freshman guard Candice Bellocchio had a Hofstra individual season-high seven assists in the contest.
Dodds led the way for the Mustangs with 22 points and Wills added 16. Katy Cobb chipped in with eight points, seven assists and four rebounds.
Hofstra returns to action on Saturday, December 29 when they take part in the FIU Sun and Fun Classic in Miami, Florida. The Pride will face host Florida International at 5:30 p.m. and will meet either Georgia or Florida State on day two of the tournament.
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