Junior center Jess Fuller had 14 points, four rebounds and four blocks, while freshman guard Nicole Capurso added 14 points and four three-pointers to lead the Hofstra Women's Basketball team to a 59-49 victory over Georgia State on Sunday afternoon at the GSU Sports Arena.
Hofstra improves to 12-6 overall and 4-3 in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play with its third win in its last four games. Georgia State, which has lost four straight, falls to 9-8 and 2-5 in conference action.
With Georgia State leading 9-8 after a pair of free throws from Crystal Johnson at the 16:08 mark of the first half, a jumper from freshman forward Joelle Connelly with 15:46 left in the opening stanza would start a 7-0 Hofstra run that culminated with a three-pointer from Capurso with 13:48 to play. The Panthers would close the gap to as few as two the rest of the first half, the last time with 3:18 remaining after two Dana Olson free throws. A three-pointer from senior guard Natty Fripp with under a minute to play would push the Pride advantage back up to six, 29-23, but Olson ended the first half scoring with a lay-up with 11 seconds left.
A jumper from Fuller with 14:23 left in the second half would allow Hofstra to take its largest lead of the game up to that point at 41-31 before Georgia State scored four straight and got within 41-35 at the 13:06 mark after two free throws from Shay Rawls. With the possession back in the Panthers' hand, Stacie Young would miss a layup for GSU and the Pride would get a huge three-pointer from the top of the key from senior guard Niki Williams to turn what looked to be just a four-point lead into a nine-point (44-35) advantage with 12:16 left in regulation.
In all it would be an 11-0 run for Hofstra as the Pride managed to take a commanding 52-35 lead after a three-pointer from Capurso with 9:51 to play. The three would be Capurso's fourth of the game and the Staten Island, NY native would tally five of the Pride's points during the run.
Fripp finished with nine points and six rebounds for the Pride, who also got a game-high six assists from Williams. Atlanta, Georgia native Aamira Terry chipped in with eight points in her return home.
Jylisa Williams posted a double-double to lead the way for the Panthers with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Shay Rawls added six points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
Hofstra will return home for the first of three straight home games on Thursday when they host Drexel at 7 p.m.
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