Hofstra women lose to Princeton, 74-69
Hofstra University #22 Nicole Capurso, left, tries to drive past Princeton University #3 Lauren Polansky in the first half. (Dec. 29, 2011) Credit: James Escher
Hofstra had a grand strategy this season: to use its strong non-conference schedule to catapult itself into the CAA season.
And aside from hiccups against perennial NCAA Tournament teams Gonzaga and Hartford, the Pride's plans had come to fruition.
But those plans took a slight detour Thursday as Hofstra couldn't overcome a rough first half in a 74-69 loss to two-time defending Ivy League champion Princeton at the Mack Sports Complex.
Hofstra (9-3) cut a 14-point deficit to 71-68 with 1:01 left on Kate Loper's free throw, but Princeton's Kate Miller and Blake Dietrick hit three of four free throws in the final 18 seconds to seal it.
"We kept getting to that point where we'd cut it to seven and they would get it back up to 10," Pride coach Krista Kilburn-Steveskey said. "We were getting stops, but we weren't getting the stops that we needed to get."
The problems for Hofstra began in the first half as leading scorer and rebounder Shante Evans picked up her second foul with 13:15 left and watched the remainder of the half from the bench. Princeton (9-4) took advantage, outscoring the Pride 20-4 in the paint for a 37-28 halftime lead. Hofstra committed 14 turnovers and shot 32 percent in the first half.
"It's definitely frustrating,'' Evans said. "I come in every game to do whatever it takes to help my team. Early in the game, I played six bad minutes, so the best thing I could do was cheer on my team and encourage them."
Senior Nicole Capurso scored 16 of her career-high 24 points in the first half and did her best to pick up the slack. "We have to have confidence that we're going to be able to hold the fort down until Shante gets back in the game," Capurso said. "We were all kind of looking for [Evans] and she wasn't there. So we have to get over that and play."
Evans finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds in 26 minutes and Loper and Marie Malone added 10 points each. Candice Bellocchio had 13 assists. Lauren Edwards had 17 points and Niveen Rasheed 14 for Princeton.
