Towson, MD - Freshman forward Shante Evans had her 12th double-double of the season with 17 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Hofstra Women's Basketball team to a 47-41 victory over Towson on Thursday evening at the Towson Center.
The win was Hofstra's third straight and sixth in its last seven games, improving the Pride's record to 17-11 overall and 10-6 in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) action. Towson, meanwhile, falls to 13-14 and 7-9 in CAA play with its third straight defeat.
Led by a stellar first half from Evans, Hofstra got off to a hot start in the game as they led 19-10 before Towson mounted a comeback and eventually took a two-point lead (23-21) at the break. Evans nearly had a double-double in the first stanza as she led the way with 11 point and nine rebounds before intermission, scoring 10 of Hofstra's first 13 points in the opening 10:29 of the contest.
Down by nine with under four minutes left in the opening half, Towson closed the half with a 13-2 run to take the narrow advantage. Hofstra out-rebounded Towson, 23-17, in the first half but the Pride was done in by 14 turnovers to assist in the Tiger rally.
A jumper from sophomore guard Nicole Capurso with 11:23 left in the second half would knot a back and forth contest at 29 before Towson responded with its first substantial run of the game, scoring the next seven points of the contest. Back-to-back baskets from senior center Jess Fuller would bring the Pride back to within 36-33 with exactly nine minutes to play.
With the shot clock winding down later in the half, junior guard Aamira Terry would hit her first three-pointer of the season from the top of the key with 6:40 left to even the score at 36.
Hofstra would retake the lead with 5:48 left in regulation as sophomore center Marie Malone hit the second of two free throws to make the score 37-36 in favor of the Pride.
With the score even at 41 with under a minute to go in the game, redshirt sophomore guard Candice Bellocchio found Evans with 55 ticks left on the clock to give Hofstra a narrow 43-41 advantage.
Bellocchio would come up big in the final seconds as well, as she hit four free throws in the final thirty seconds to allow the Pride to win the game, 47-41.
Terry had a solid game for the Pride, chipping in with nine points, six rebounds and three steals in a career-high 35 minutes of action. Fuller finished with eight points, five rebound and four blocks for Hofstra.
Towson, which had no players in double figures, got nine points from Haliena Snowden and Charmonique Watt. Hofstra held Shanae Baker-Brice, Towson's leading scorer at 18.5 points per game, to just eight in the contest. Baker-Brice also added six rebound and four steals.
Hofstra returns to action on Sunday when they host Northeastern at 2 p.m. Prior to the contest Hofstra will recognize its two seniors (center Jess Fuller and guard Sam Brigham) as they play their final regular season game in the Mack Sports Complex.
