Hempstead, NY - The Hofstra Women's Basketball team, arguably playing its best basketball at the current time, will look to end the regular season with a five-game win streak as the Pride heads to the "First State" on Wednesday to face Delaware at 7 p.m.
There will be major Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championship seeding implications on the line in the regular season finale for both teams as Hofstra is currently tied with Virginia Commonwealth and Drexel for third in the CAA standings at 11-6, while Delaware is alone in sixth with a 10-7 conference mark. The top four seeds in the tournament receives byes in the opening round.
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Hofstra, which put together a stellar 7-1 record in February, had a dominating defensive effort in its last game as the Pride defeated Northeastern, 53-37, on Sunday to improve to 18-11 overall and 11-6 in CAA action. Hofstra placed three players in double figures, led by freshman forward Shante Evans who had 13 points and 11 rebounds for her conference-leading 13th double-double of the season. Redshirt sophomore guard Candice Bellocchio tied Evans for game-high honors with 13 points, and also added four rebounds, four assists and three steals. Senior center Jess Fuller led the defensive charge as she had a season-high tying six blocks to go along with 12 points and four rebounds. It was the final regular season home game in the careers of Fuller and senior guard Sam Brigham, and Brigham added six points, three rebounds and two assists to the Pride's efforts.
The top rebounder in the CAA and on the Pride at 9.2 caroms per contest, Evans is tops on the Pride in scoring as well at 13.7 points per outing. The last freshman to lead the Hofstra Women's Basketball team in scoring and rebounding through an entire season was Molly Sito in 1992-93 when she averaged 13.9 points and 8.5 rebounds per game.
On Monday, Evans was named the CAA Player and Co-Rookie of the Week. It was her first player of the week honor and her third rookie of the week accolade.
Evans is the only member of the Pride to average in double figures, but three other players average at least 9.2 points per game to help lead a balanced scoring attack.
Brigham and sophomore guard Nicole Capurso are tied for second on the Pride with 9.7 points per game, while Fuller is fourth with 9.2 per outing. Capurso and Brigham are also Hofstra's top three-point shooters as they have nailed 51 and 34 three-pointers, respectively. Fuller, the top shot blocker in the CAA, has 88 blocks this season for an average of 3.0 per game. Her career total of 193 blocks ranks first all-time in program history and fifth all-time in the CAA.
Delaware enters Wednesday's all-important tilt sporting an 18-10 overall mark and a CAA record of 10-7. The Blue Hens dropped a 56-45 decision to Towson in their last game on Sunday. Elena Delle Donne, who along with Hofstra's Evans, have been two of the more impressive freshmen in recent CAA memory, has missed the last two games with an injury. She currently leads Delaware in scoring and rebounding at 26.9 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.
