Pride women ousted in WNIT first round

It wasn't the way Hofstra senior guard Candice Bellocchio wanted her career to end, but she was gratified to have a chance to compete.

The Staten Island product and the rest of her teammates made a spirited second-half run Thursday night but came up short as Harvard held off the Pride, 73-71, in a WNIT first-round game at the Mack Sports Complex.

Hofstra came back from a 63-50 deficit with 8:51 left and had a chance to send the game into overtime, but Candace Bond missed on a contested floater in the lane as time expired.

The loss hurt, but Bellocchio is proud of what she was able to accomplish with the Pride, including two WNIT appearances. Bellocchio set the program record for games played (133) and is second in assists with 628.

"I came in here with a bunch of freshmen and we started from the bottom," Bellocchio said. "Coach told me we're going to build a program, and that's exactly what we did."

Shante Evans led Hofstra (19-12) with 24 points and 16 rebounds. Bond had 18 points and Bellocchio finished with seven assists and two steals.

Brogan Berry had 26 points and Christine Clark added 23 for Harvard (18-11), which plays at Temple in the second round at 6 p.m. Saturday.

The game also marked the end of the line for Hofstra seniors Nicole Capurso (13 points) and Marie Malone (eight points, six rebounds).

"The foundation that those three have set for us is great, but it's tough to see them have to go out this way," Kilburn-Steveskey said. "I know Candice was pretty down on herself, but we'll have time to reflect on her career and what she's done. It's just hard to do that now."