Hempstead, NY - Sophomore forward Shante Evans led four players in double figures with 19 points to lead the Hofstra Women's Basketball team to a convincing 79-65 victory over William & Mary on Thursday evening at the Mack Sports Complex.

Evans added nine rebounds in the game, while sophomore forward Candace Bond had a stellar all-around game with four points, four assists, seven steals and eight rebounds. 

10 of the 11 players that saw action in the game for Hofstra scored as the Pride pulled away in the second half courtesy of a strong shooting half.  Hofstra scored 43 points in the final 20 minutes as it was 15-34 from the field (44.1%) after the intermission.

The win was Hofstra's second straight and improves the Pride's record to 13-8 overall and 5-5 in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play.  William & Mary slips to 2-18 and 1-9 in conference action with the loss.

Hofstra jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the contest as Evans scored the first five points of the game for the Pride.  A layup from Bond at the 15:48 mark allowed Hofstra to stretch the lead to 10 points, 12-2, which was the Pride's largest of the first half.  William & Mary fought back, though, and eventually cut the deficit to one at 23-22 following a basket from Taylor Hilton.

Leading by just one with 5:42 to play, Hofstra used a 13-4 run to push the advantage back to double digits as Bond had another basket to give the Pride a 36-26 lead with 1:13 left before halftime.  Katherine DeHenzel hit a three-pointer for the Tribe with 55 seconds left to account for the final points of the opening stanza.

Two free throws from freshman guard Kate Loper nearly four minutes into the second half would give Hofstra a 46-36 advantage and the Pride would never see its lead go under double digits the remainder of the contest. 

Hofstra would take its largest lead of the contest at 26 points on a pair of occasions late in the contest as junior guard Candice Bellocchio hit two free throws with 7:13 left to make the score 73-47 and a three-pointer from freshman guard Annie Payton with 5:46 remaining gave the Pride its final 26-point margin at 76-50. 

Loper added 16 points for Hofstra, including four three pointers, while Capurso had 12 points and six assists and Bellocchio chipped in with 10 points.

William & Mary placed three players in double figures as Emily Correal and Hilton each led the way with 15 points, while Jaclyn McKenna added 14 points.  Katy Oblinger dished out a game-high eight assists for the Tribe.

Hofstra forced 28 turnovers in the game as the Pride picked up 19 steals and scored 32 points off turnovers.

Hofstra returns to action on Sunday when it travels to George Mason for a 2 p.m. contest.