Boxscore
Photo Courtesy of Mark Campbell

NEWARK, Del. -- After trailing almost the entire second half, Hofstra sent the game into overtime and then scored the first seven points of the extra session - all by senior guard Niki Williams - to pull away and hand the University of Delaware a 62-53 Colonial Athletic Association women's basketball setback Thursday night at the Bob Carpenter Center.

The win was a historic one for the Pride, who defeated Delaware in Newark for the first time ever after 24 straight losses. The Hens had also held a 14-0 lead all-time in the series at the BCC. The game marked the 50th all-time meeting between the two long-time rivals with Delaware, winners in 15 of the last 18 games, still leading by a commanding 42-8 margin.

Delaware (8-5, 0-2 CAA), which lost its second straight game after a six-game win streak, is now 0-2 in league play for the first time since the 1998-99 season. Hofstra (9-4, 1-1 CAA) has now won eight of its last nine games after going 5-25 a year ago and finishing tied for last in the CAA with a record of 3-15.

Sophomore guard Vanessa Kabongo (at right) led the Blue Hens with a career-high 18 points and six steals while Ariene Jenkins posted a double-double with 14 points and a team-high 12 rebounds, and Tesia Harris, the hero in last season's last second home victory over Hofstra, contributed 11 points, including three three-pointers.

Freshman guard Nicole Capurso exploded for a career-high 23 points, including three three-pointers, while forward Joelle Connelly added 14 points before fouling out in overtime and guard Natty Fripp chipped in with nine points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Williams scored all of her nine points in the extra session while also adding five steals and five rebounds for the game.

After a 49-49 deadlock after regulation, Hofstra took control early in the extra session and ran to the victory. Williams put the Pride up for good with a three-pointer and followed with a layup and two free throws to push the Hofstra lead to 56-49 in the first minute. Delaware never got closer than five points the rest of the way.

The Blue Hens led by as much as 11 points in the opening half on the way to a 27-19 lead at intermission and stayed in front until the six-minute mark of the second half when a layup by Connelly with 6:03 left gave the Pride its first lead at 43-42.

The lead changed hands four times after that before the Hens tied the score at 49-49 with 1:04 left when Kabongo hit one of two free throws. Both teams had several chances to put the game away regulation, but each had a turnover and Hofstra's Jess Fuller missed a wide open layup with 18 seconds left. Delaware had the possession in regulation, but Corinthia Benison turned the ball over before the Hens could get a shot off.

"We got down and instead of showing maturity and executing, we don't screen and we don't get the shot we want," said Delaware head coach Tina Martin of the Hens' attempt to win in regulation. "I see us doing things really well and then we come back and don't do things right. We are a young team, but we need to get some mental toughness."

The game was marred by 57 turnovers, including 30 by Hofstra, while the Hens hit just 30.5 percent of their shots from the field (18 of 59) and the Pride was just 22 of 55 (40 percent).

Delaware continues CAA action this Sunday at UNC Wilmington at 1 p.m. while next up for Hofstra is a game at Drexel.