Hempstead, NY - Junior guard Nicole Capurso scored a game-high 17 points, while sophomore forward Shante Evans added 16 points and a game-high 12 rebounds to lead the Hofstra Women's Basketball team to a come-from-behind 66-55 victory over Towson on Thursday evening at the Mack Sports Complex.
Hofstra ends its three-game losing skid with the victory and improves to 9-4 overall and 1-1 in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play. Towson dropped its second straight contest and saw its record fall to 6-7 and 0-2 in league action.
Hofstra had a rough shooting first half as the Pride managed to shoot just 23.5% (8-34) from the field as they went into the break trailing, 30-25. Towson scored 10 of the first 12 points in the contest and led 10-2 following a layup from Dovile Miliauskaite with 14:09 left before intermission.
The Pride would close the gap to four, 10-6, as a jumper from sophomore forward Candace Bond and two free throws from Capurso closed the deficit with 10:51 to play. Towson would continue to lead the remainder of the half as they held the Pride to its lowest first half shooting percentage of the season.
A spirited Hofstra squad came out of the locker room and began the second stanza on an 8-2 run in the first 1:44 to take a 33-32 lead after back-to-back three-pointers from freshman guard Kate Loper and Capurso, forcing a Towson timeout. Hofstra continued its half-opening run after the break in action as in all the Pride put together a 17-2 run over the first 4:23 of the second half to lead 42-32 after two technical free throw shots by Capurso. Hofstra managed to turn its shooting fortunes around after halftime as they made eight of their first 11 shots to take command in the contest.
A layup from junior guard Jael Pena with 8:12 to play in regulation pushed Hofstra advantage to 18, its largest of the game, before Towson gradually chipped away and got as close as six points with just over three minutes left.
After Miliauskaite got Towson within 61-55 with two free throws, Hofstra managed to make five straight from the charity stripe over the next 45 seconds to push the lead back to double digits before settling for the 11-point victory.
Bond and Loper both reached double figures for Hofstra with 11 points apiece. Hofstra stepped up its defensive intensity in the second half as they held the Tigers to 14.7% (5-34) shooting.
Deree Fooks and Tanisha McTiller each scored 10 points to lead Towson, while Miliauskaite had six points and 10 rebounds for the Tigers.
Hofstra returns to action on Sunday when it travels to Atlanta to take on Georgia State. Tip-off in scheduled for 2 p.m. from the GSU Sports Arena.
