Hempstead, NY- Freshman forward Shante Evans scored 28 points and tied a career-high with five steals while senior guard Sam Brigham added 16 points to push Hofstra to a 73-58 win over UNC Wilmington in a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) matchup Sunday afternoon at the Mack Sports Complex.
Evans (West Chester, PA) hauled in seven rebounds and shot 11-14 from the field, forming a potent inside-outside combination with Brigham (Simsbury, CT) and sophomore guard Nicole Capurso (Staten Island, NY), who scored nine of her 12 total points in the second half.
Sophomore Candice Bellocchio (Staten Island, NY) racked up nine assists and nine points as Hofstra won its second straight and third in the past four games to improve to 13-10 and 6-5 in CAA play. Brittany Blackwell (15 points) and Martha White (10 points) scored in double figures for UNC Wilmington as the Seahawks fell to 7-15 and 2-9.
Hofstra drained six of its 13 three-point attempts as the team shot 50 percent from the field overall. The Pride forged an 11-2 second-half run to turn a one-point lead into a comfortable margin. One game after defeating George Mason, 72-39, the Pride has out-scored opponents by 48 points during its two-game winning streak.
Bellocchio's nine assists came against just two turnovers as the point guard produced a highlight-type play in the second half. Bellocchio gained midcourt and continued to race to the foul line before hitting a driving Evans with a behind-the-back pass. Evans made the basket while getting fouled. The first-year forward then capped a 9-0 Hofstra run with a shot off the glass the next trip down, putting Hofstra ahead, 48-38, midway through the second half.
Minutes later, Capurso added a right-wing three-pointer and found Bellocchio on a good pass for the layup on the Pride's next score as Hofstra extended its lead to a game-high 60-47 with 5:25 left to secure the win.
The Pride's frontcourt depth took an early hit when senior center Jess Fuller was injured under the Hofstra basket and had to leave the game just 5:16 in. Fuller (Queens, NY), who is second on the team in scoring and rebounding and leads the team in blocks, did not return to the game.
Hofstra compensated for Fuller's absence by shooting 63.6 percent from the field in the opening half. Evans found an early groove in low post, scoring 16 points on 6-7 shooting before the break.
Brigham added an outside threat in hitting four of five shots, including a left-wing three pointer with five seconds left to lift Hofstra to a 36-34 halftime lead.
Both teams wore special warm-ups and pink shoelaces as part of the annual Pink Zone game to promote breast cancer awareness. Hofstra also held a rally raffle to benefit the Kay Yow/WBCA Cancer Fund.
Fuller was presented with a commemorative basketball before tipoff after breaking Vanessa Gidden's all-time Hofstra blocks record in Hofstra's previous game against George Mason.
The Pride will be back in action Thursday when it hosts Virginia Commonwealth. The weekday game will have a noon start time.
