Hempstead, NY- Freshman forward Shante Evans scored a game-high 20 points and grabbed 17 rebounds for her 11th double-double, powering Hofstra to a 59-49 victory over George Mason in a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) meeting Thursday afternoon at the Mack Sports Complex. The game was part of "Family Fun Day" and a crowd of 1,016 witnessed Hofstra's 10-point victory.
Evans (West Chester, PA) finished one rebound shy of tying her career-high and scored 10 of her points in the second half to thwart a Patriots comeback attempt. Senior center Jess Fuller (Queens, NY) contributed 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting as Hofstra won for the fourth time in five games to improve to 15-11 and 8-6 in the CAA.
Sophomore guard Nicole Capurso (Staten Island, NY) chipped in 12 points, including both of Hofstra's three-pointers in helping her team improve to 10-3 at home. The Pride, who defeated the Patriots 72-39 on the road two weeks prior, swept the regular season series.
George Mason's Amber Easter (14 points) and Brittany Poindexter (13 points) scored in double figures but couldn't prevent the Patriots (8-17, 1-13) from losing its ninth consecutive game.
Evans hauled in nine offensive rebounds, matching the entire Patriots total. Fuller and Evans combined to give Hofstra a low-post advantage with the Pride building a 34-16 scoring edge in the paint.
George Mason moved within 27-23 early in the second half after Hofstra built a 13-point lead in the opening 20 minutes. But Fuller and Evans overmatched the Patriots inside, providing all the offense in a 9-0 run almost five minutes into the second half to put Hofstra ahead, 36-23.
Yet the Patriots surged back with back-to-back three-pointers as part of a 15-1 run. Poindexter's jumper and subsequent layup pulled George Mason ahead, 38-37, nine minutes into the second half.
Hofstra called two timeouts in that stretch and responded to the breaks. Sophomore Candice Bellocchio (Staten Island, NY) made a jump shot and Aamira Terry (Atlanta, GA) later stole the ball near George Mason's bench before racing in for the layup while getting fouled. Evans added the offensive rebound and a free throw to re-establish the Pride's lead at 44-40 with eight minutes left. Hofstra would not trail again.
Evans secured the win at the two-minute mark, drilling a top-of-the key jumper to make it 55-47. Hofstra generated 21 turnovers and capitalized on the extra chances, scoring 29 points on the turnaround.
Evans found a comfort zone in the paint early, scoring eight points and seven rebounds to lift Hofstra to a 25-17 halftime lead.
The Pride held George Mason scoreless on nine of its first 11 possessions, forcing the Patriots to shoot just less than 30 percent from the floor before the break.
Three of Hofstra's last four regular season games will come on the road, starting Sunday afternoon at Drexel. Game time against the Dragons is set for 1 p.m.
