Newark, DE - Elena Delle Donne had a game-high of 27 points and added 10 rebounds, including 16-17 from the free throw line, to lead Delaware to a 59-41 victory over Hofstra on Wednesday evening at the Bob Carpenter Center.
Hofstra was led by freshman forward Shante Evans, who scored 14 points and added eight rebounds.
The loss ends the Pride's four-game win streak and drops Hofstra's record to 18-12 overall and 11-7 in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play.
Seeding for next week's CAA Tournament will be decided at the conclusion of tonight's games.
Delaware improves to 19-10 and 11-7 with its third win in its last four games.
Delaware would score the first seven points of the contest and lead 15-11 before Hofstra rallied back to take a 16-15 advantage. The comeback would all come on free throws and a pair from redshirt sophomore guard Candice Bellocchio with 7:01 left in the opening stanza pushed the Pride in front.
Hofstra would struggle mightily from the field in the first half as they shot just 6-26 from the field (23.1%) and went from the 12:10 mark (senior center Jess Fuller layup) until the 1:42 mark (sophomore guard Nicole Capurso three-pointer) without a field goal. The Capurso three cut the deficit to five points, 24-19, before a layup from Tesia Harris with 42 seconds remaining accounted for the final scoring in the half.
The Blue Hens would push the advantage to double digits just about four minutes into the second half when Lauren Carra nailed a three-pointer to put Delaware ahead 33-23 at the 16:08 mark.
Another three-pointer from Capurso would cut the margin to seven, 33-26, with 15:29 left in the second half before Delaware began to pull away. An 11-2 run was capped by two free throws from Delle Donne and allowed Delaware to take a 44-28 advantage with 9:17 to play.
With Delaware holding a 50-32 lead at the 6:40 mark Hofstra would cut into the deficit and score the game's next seven points to trail 50-39 with 5:02 left. The run would be capped by a jumper from Capurso after a steal from freshman guard Candace Bond and it was the closest Hofstra had been in the game since the score was 38-28 with 11:47 remaining.
That would be as close as the Pride would get in the contest as Delaware pulled away late and defeated Hofstra by the score of 59-41.
Capurso was also in double figures for the Pride as she ended the game with 11 points. Bellocchio tied junior guard Aamira Terry for the team-high mark in rebounds with nine.
Harris added 11 points and seven rebounds for Delaware, while Danielle Parker chipped in with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Hofstra is next in action at the CAA Championship in Harrisonburg, Virginia next week. The tournament begins on Thursday with the opening round and concludes on Sunday with the championship game.
