Freshman forward Joelle Connelly had her second straight solid outing to open her collegiate career with 12 points and nine rebounds, but Boston College built a large lead early in the second half and held off a late Hofstra rally in defeating the Pride, 71-60, at Conte Forum on Thursday evening.

Connelly's outing came on the heels of her 17-point, 10-rebound effort in her collegiate debut last Friday against Iona.  That showing earned her Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Rookie of the Week honors on Monday.

Hofstra slips to 0-2 to start the 2008-09 campaign, while Boston College improves to a perfect 3-0 to start this season.

Fueled by an early three-pointer from senior guard Natty Fripp, Hofstra would lead 7-5 at the 18:14 mark before the Eagles scored the game's next 14 points and led 19-7 after a basket from Brittanny Johnson with 10:19 left in the opening stanza.  Hofstra would finally put an end to a scoring drought of 8:03 when sophomore guard Aamira Terry nailed a baseline jumper with 10:11 to play, cutting it to a 19-9 deficit.

Connelly would follow with a basket at the 9:34 mark that brought Hofstra to within 19-11, but Boston College outscored Hofstra, 20-5, over the next 9:01 to lead 39-16 after a pair of free throws from Stephanie Murphy.  The Pride would score the final two points of the half as sophomore guard Candice Bellocchio nailed two free throws with two ticks left on the clock to make the halftime score 39-18 in favor of the Eagles.

A basket from junior guard Sam Brigham opened the score in the second half at the 19:51 mark before the Eagles scored the next five points and opened a 44-20 advantage after a free throw from Murphy.

The lead for the Eagles would stay at 20 or above for the majority of the second half until freshman guard Nicole Capurso converted a steal into an easy lay-up with 7:30 remaining to make it 59-41 in favor of the home squad.  That play would seem to give Hofstra some much needed momentum as the Pride would make it an 8-2 run in all and close the gap to 61-45 after a steal and basket from Bellocchio.  After a pair of free throws from Carolyn Swords put the Eagles up 63-45, Connelly and Capurso hit back-to-back buckets to close the deficit to 63-49.  The 14-point margin was the closest the game had been since Hofstra trailed 29-16 after a basket from junior center Jess Fuller with 4:04 left in the first half.

Hofstra would continue to put the heat on Boston College as the game neared its conclusion as a Bellocchio jumper with 3:44 left made it a 12-point game as the Pride roared back to make the score 65-53. 

The Pride would get the deficit to 11 in the final seconds of the contest but Boston College would go on to earn a 71-60 victory in the first-ever meeting between the two programs in women's basketball.

Bellocchio tied Connelly for team-high honors in points, while Capurso finished with 11 points in the contest for the first double-digit scoring game of her career. 

Hofstra's second half rally was helped by solid shooting as the Pride was 16-32 (50%) from the field in the final twenty minutes, while a stellar defensive effort held the Eagles to a 9-38 (23.7%) showing after intermission.

Mickel Picco and Ayla Brown led Boston College with 16 points, while Swords finished with 14 points and a team-best nine rebounds.

Hofstra returns to action next Tuesday, November 25 when they host their home opener against Manhattan at 7 p.m.

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