Junior center Jess Fuller had 15 points and 11 rebounds for her sixth double-double of the season and freshman forward Joelle Connelly added 12 points and 12 rebounds for her fourth double-double, but Drexel defeated Hofstra, 71-66, on Sunday afternoon at the Daskalakis Athletic Center in Philadelphia, PA.

Hofstra falls to 9-5 overall and 1-2 in conference action, while Drexel improves to 7-7 and 2-1 in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).

Freshman guard Nicole Capurso tied Drexel's Gabriela Marginean for game-high honors with 21 points.

Led by 12 first half points from Jasmina Rosseel, all on three-pointers, Drexel jumped out to a 34-19 lead with 3:44 left in the opening half before Hofstra mounted a rally.  The Pride would score 11 unanswered points to end the half and close the gap to 34-30 at the break.  Hofstra was a stellar 12-15 (80%) from the free throw line in the opening twenty minutes, led by a 4-4 showing from Capurso.  One game after scoring all nine of Hofstra's points in the Pride's overtime win over Delaware on Thursday, senior guard Niki Williams led Hofstra with eight points in the first half.

Hofstra would continue its comeback to start the second stanza and a three-pointer from Capurso with 13:54 to play in regulation gave Hofstra a 44-42 lead and its first advantage since scoring the game's opening basket in the second minute of the game.

It would be a tight half through the second stanza with Hofstra going in front 64-63 on a pair of free throws from Fuller, but a three-pointer from Rosseel with 1:12 left put the Dragons back in front 66-64.

A Tyler Hale free throw would allow Drexel to take a one-point lead (67-66) with 33 seconds left before senior guard Natty missed a jumper with 18 seconds left that would have put Hofstra back in front.

Hofstra would foul Andrea Peterson with 11 seconds left and after she made both, Williams would miss a three-pointer from the corner that would have tied the score.

Hofstra will be home for its next two games as the Pride will host Towson on Thursday at 7 p.m. before closing the short homestand with a 2 p.m. game against William & Mary on Sunday.

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