University Park, PA - Freshman forward Shante Evans scored 14 points and grabbed a game-high 17 rebounds and senior guard Sam Brigham notched a team-high 18 points as the Hofstra Women's Basketball team moved on to the second round of the 2010 Postseason WNIT with a 76-68 victory over Penn State on Thursday evening at the Bryce Jordan Center.
The win improved Hofstra's Division I postseason record to 4-2 all-time after WNIT appearances in 2005-06 and 2006-07.
Hofstra is now 20-13 on the season, achieving 20 victories for just the third time in their Division I history (since 1982-83). Penn State falls to 17-14 with the loss. The Pride, which are now 9-3 since February 1, move on to face conference-rival Virginia Commonwealth on Sunday at 4 p.m. in Richmond.
It was Hofstra's third-ever game against a current member of the Big Ten Conference as Hofstra is now 2-1 after defeating nationally-ranked Michigan State in 2006-07 and dropping a contest to Northwestern during the 2001-02 campaign.
Seven different Pride players would get in the scoring column in the first half as Hofstra battled the Lady Lions in the opening stanza, trailing 34-33 at the break.
A lay-up from freshman guard Candace Bond at the 12:43 mark of the first half would cut the Pride deficit to 12-10 before Penn State scored 11 of the next 15 points in the contest to lead 23-14 after a jumper from Gizelle Studevent with 7:56 left in the half.
Hofstra would rally, though, and a pair of free throws from sophomore guard Nicole Capurso at the 7:27 mark would kick-start an 18-5 run over the next 6:06 that put the Pride in front, 32-28, following a three-pointer from Capurso. Penn State would fight back in the final moments of the half to take the narrow one-point lead at the half. Playing in the first postseason game of her career, Evans posted nine points and six rebounds in the opening twenty minutes.
The Pride would come out of the intermission on fire as they outscored the Lady Lions, 12-2, over the first four minutes of the second stanza and led 45-36 following two free throws from redshirt sophomore guard Candice Bellocchio.
Penn State would score the next four points to cut the Hofstra lead to 45-40 before a Evans layup expanded the lead back to seven.
Hofstra would continue to hold at least a five-point advantage until a basket from Penn State's Tyra Grant cut it to 50-46 with 11:25 to play. It would get even closer two minutes later as Alex Bentley nailed a jumper to make it 54-53 in favor of the Pride at the 9:23 mark before Brigham drained a huge three-pointer with 8:56 left in regulation to push the lead back to four.
The Lady Lions would cut it to two points on a trio of occasions down the stretch, including at 65-63 with 3:35 to play, before Brigham starred once again and hit another clutch three-pointer to allow Hofstra to take a 68-63 at the 2:27 mark.
The basket from Brigham would prove to be the nail in the coffin as Hofstra wouldn't allow Penn State to get any closer than five in the final minutes as the Pride hit five of six free throws in the 28 seconds to clinch it.
Capurso finished with 13 points and a career-high six assists, while Bellocchio added 11 points. Brigham also added five assists in the game, while Evans added a team-best three steals.
Grant led Penn State with 23 points, while Nikki Greene added 11 and Bentley chipped in with 10 points, seven assists and four rebounds.
Notes: With her 18 points in the game, senior guard Sam Brigham now has 999 points in her career and needs one point to become only the 20th player in school history to reach 1,000 career points...Sophomore guard Nicole Capurso nailed a pair of three-pointers and now has 100 career three-pointers; becoming just the ninth player in program history to reach that milestone...Senior center Jess Fuller blocked one shot and now has 202 blocked shots (already held school record)...Fuller's 97 blocks this season give her 97 in 2009-10, tying her own single season school record set last season...The double-double for freshman forward Shante Evans was her 16th of the season.
