Freshman guard Nicole Capurso (Staten Island, NY) scored a season-high 20 points, helping Hofstra surge to a large first-half lead it would not relinquish in a 70-46 victory over St. Francis College (NY) in a rare Monday matinee at the Mack Sports Complex.
Capurso shot 8-17 from the field and junior center Jess Fuller (Queens, NY) poured in 10 points in the non-conference game as the Pride extended its winning streak to five in improving to 6-3. Fuller scored in double figures for the sixth time this season, while Hofstra has already exceeded last season's win total before the start of the new year.
Hofstra improved to 15-4 in the all-time series, posting its ninth consecutive victory in the matchup thanks mostly to the Pride's bench out-scoring the Terriers, 43-6. The Pride forced 27 turnovers in the contest and notched 20 or more assists for the second time this season.
All eleven Pride players who saw game action registered at least two points, while the defense held St. Francis to just 34.6 percent field goal shooting. Kara Ayers scored a team-high 19 points and Kendra Williams scored 11 points as the only two Terriers to reach double figures.
Senior guard Niki Williams (Pittsburgh, PA) continued to step up in the absence of injured sophomore guard Candice Bellocchio, racking up five assists and three rebounds.
Freshman guard Asia Jenkins (Piscataway, NJ) came off the bench for the Pride, scoring two points and logging two rebounds in 11 minutes in her NCAA debut. It was the first game in which the University of Cincinnati transfer was eligible to play for Hofstra. The red-shirt freshman scored her first collegiate points 10 minutes into the second half off a lay-up, putting Hofstra up, 58-31.
Hofstra connected on 30 of 60 field goals, including four three-pointers. It marked the third time this campaign the Pride finished 50 percent or better from the field. The other two strong-shooting games came against Manhattan (55.9%) and Southern Illinois (54.5%).
The Pride went down 8-4 nearly five minutes into the contest before taking the lead for good. Hofstra utilized a full-court press to generate a 16-0 run early in the first half, led by Capurso's 16 points before intermission. The 5-9 guard's previous season-high was 17 points.
Capurso hit a three-pointer and generated a steal on the ensuing in-bounds play before drilling a jumper near the top of the key, giving her five points in an eight-second span. It also marked the first of four straight turnovers forced by the Pride, which pressured the Terriers into 18 turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
Following Capurso's first three-pointer, guard Aamira Terry (Atlanta, GA) capitalized on sophomore forward Ashley Wilcots' steal, converting a layup. Capurso then followed another Pride defensive stop with her second trey. Freshman forward Joelle Connelly (Arcade, NY) capped the run, turning junior Sam Brigham's steal of Kristen Miah into another easy basket in the paint, putting Hofstra up, 31-16. Brigham (Simsbury, CT) scored five points and Connelly added six points and seven rebounds on the afternoon.
Terry, a sophomore, scored off another Hofstra steal to establish a then game-high 21-point lead before St. Francis added a lay-in with four second left in the first half, though the Pride still carried a 41-22 lead into the locker room. Terry finished with seven points, three rebounds, three assists and a steal.
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
The Pride will enjoy a seven-day holiday layoff before taking on NJIT in the Saint Peter's College Holiday Classic Dec. 29. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. Hofstra will return home on January 4 when it opens Colonial Athletic Association play against Northeastern.
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