San Diego, CA - Sophomore forward Shante Evans had 17 points and a career-high 19 rebounds, but it wasn't enough as the Hofstra Women's Basketball team dropped its second straight nail-biter, falling 65-63 to Cincinnati in the consolation game of the Maggie Dixon Surf 'N Slam Classic at the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
Hofstra rallied late in the contest as they trailed 53-43 before using a 20-10 run to knot the score at 63 on a basket from Evans with 35 seconds left. Cincinnati would tally the winning points from the free throw line as Shareese Ulis hit a pair from the charity stripe with 11 seconds remaining to account for the winning points.
Hofstra falls to 8-3 with the loss, while the Bearcats improved to 7-5 with the win.
The 19 rebounds by Evans in the game are tied for the fifth-most in a contest in program history and the most since Vanessa Gidden also pulled down 19 in a game during the 2004-05 campaign.
Hofstra fell behind early, as the Pride trailed 11-4 at the 15:28 mark before scoring six straight points to close to within 11-10 following a jumper from junior guard Candice Bellocchio. The Bearcats immediately answered Hofstra's run, though, as Cincinnati put together a 19-4 run that culminated with two free throws from Tiffany Turner with just under five minutes left in the opening stanza.
Facing a 30-14 deficit at the 4:57 mark, Hofstra gradually chipped away at the Cincinnati lead and scored the final five points of the half to get the Bearcat advantage under double digits at nine, 36-27. Senior forward Isoken Uzamere scored the first three points during the half-ending run, with junior guard Asia Jenkins adding a jumper with 38 seconds left to account for the other points.
Evans was a force in the opening twenty minutes as she scored 11 points and added 11 rebounds. It marked her fifth double-double of the season and the 21st of her career, and also the second time this season she had accumulated a double-double in the first half (20 points/10 rebounds in first half at Niagara).
Jenkins would make her first career three-pointer during a 9-0 run that Hofstra used to start the second stanza and the Pride knotted the score at 36. It was the first time the score was tied since the game was knotted at two just a minute into the contest.
Just as they had done in the first half, Cincinnati answered and used a 17-7 run to lead 53-43.
Hofstra was not done, though, as after the Bearcats took their final 10-point lead (55-45) with 9:37 left before Hofstra began to chip away at the deficit.
Almost two minutes later, freshman guard Kate Loper would make the score 55-47 with a layup before sophomore forward Candace Bond and freshman guard Annie Payton hit back-to-back three-pointers to close the gap to 55-53 with 4:15 to play. Three times over the next two minutes Cincinnati would extend the lead back to four points, but Bond hit a jumper with 2:07 left and then Evans tied the game with her layup.
Payton finished with a season-high 13 points in 16 minutes of action, while Bond added 11 points and six rebounds.
Bjonee Reaves led Cincinnati with 22 points, while Ulis added 19. Chanel Chisholm chipped in with nine points and 10 rebounds.
Tonight's game marked the end of Hofstra's non-conference schedule this season as the Pride begins Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play on Sunday with a 2 p.m. contest at Delaware.
