Wilmington, NC - Junior guard Nicole Capurso led Hofstra with 12 points and sophomore forward Shante Evans had 14 rebounds and eight points but UNC Wilmington rallied from a halftime deficit to defeat Hofstra, 65-42, on Thursday evening at Trask Coliseum.
The loss drops Hofstra's record to 11-8 overall this season and 3-5 in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play. UNC Wilmington improves to 15-4 and 7-1 in conference action.
A low-scoring first half would see Hofstra take a 25-22 lead into the break as the Pride forced 16 turnovers in the first twenty minutes. A jumper from Brittany Blackwell just over four minutes into the half would give the Seahawks an early 4-3 advantage before Hofstra answered with a 7-0 scoring run to lead 10-4 with 13:45 to play before intermission. Capurso, who led Hofstra with seven points in the first half, hit a three-pointer to cap the run.
Leading 13-8 with 9:32 to play, Hofstra clamped down on defense and held UNC Wilmington without a point for nearly three minutes as the Pride added three points to its lead before Alisha Andrews ended the Seahawk scoring drought with a three-pointer.
UNC Wilmington would regain the advantage at 21-20 later in the half, but Hofstra quickly answered with five straight points to earn the 25-21 advantage. After Evans put Hofstra ahead 25-21 with a layup at the 1:29 mark, Kristen Hanzer ended the first half scoring with a free throw with just over a second remaining.
The beginning of the second half would be a tightly contested battle with Hofstra leading 31-28 following a pair of free throws from freshman guard Annie Payton with 15:31 left in regulation. UNC Wilmington responded, though, and the Seahawks used a 14-0 scoring run to take a 42-31 lead with 9:04 to play. Blackwell scored seven points during the run to help the Seahawk cause.
Hofstra would go from the 16:07 mark until 8:47 was on the clock without a point as Evans finally ended the run with a layup.
The deficit would prove too much to overcome for the Pride as the Seahawks held a double digit lead for the rest of half en route to the 65-42 victory.
Blackwell led UNC Wilmington with 23 points and 16 rebounds, while Marsha White had 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Seahawks.
Hofstra returns to the court on Sunday when it hosts Delaware at 2 p.m.
