Boxscore

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- The University of Delaware women’s basketball team played Colonial Athletic Association foe Hofstra to a 26-26 tie at halftime, but collapsed in the second half as the Pride outscored the Hens 32-23 in the second stanza en-route to a 58-49 win and its first ever season sweep of Delaware.

Delaware, which had its three-game win streak snapped, fell to 11-10 (3-7 CAA) as Hofstra improved to 13-8 (5-5 CAA).

The Blue Hens were led by sophomore guard Tesia Harris (at right), who scored 15 points on 5-of-16 from the field, 3-of-7 from three-point land. With those three three-point field goals, Harris past Kristen Stout (1995-98) for No. 10 on the school’s all-time three-point field goal list with 53 for her career.

Junior guard Corinthia Benison and sophomore guard Vanessa Kabongo pitched in 11 and 10, respectively, on the night. Benison, who also pitched in four assists, has scored in double-figures five straight games and Kabongo in six.

As a team, Delaware shot 30.8 percent from the field, including 28.6 percent in the second half. The Blue Hens outrebounded the Pride 44-35 on the strength of nine rebounds a piece from Harris and sophomore forward Ariene Jenkins, but could not overcome 29 turnovers to Hofstra’s 20. Hofstra turned those 29 turnovers into 26 points on the night.

“There’s no way we’re going to win a ball game with that many turnovers,” Head Coach Tina Martin said. “We struggled on the perimeter tonight. We’re young, but this kind of stuff can’t happen. We were just not in sync tonight.”

The Pride outscored Delaware in the paint 34-12 as they were led by their 6-4 junior center Jess Fuller who scored 23 points on 11-of-14 from the field and had five blocks. Fuller was the last Blue Hen opponent with five blocks when she did it in Hofstra’s overtime win this season at the Bob Carpenter Center back on Jan. 8. She scored 15 of her team’s 26 points in the first half on 7-of-10 shooting from the field and 1-of-2 from the line.

The Pride’s Natty Fripp and Hofstra’s star in the first meeting against the Blue Hens with 23 points, Nicole Capurso each tallied 11. Capurso, a three-time CAA Rookie of the Week so far this year, was just 1-of-10 from the field in the first half, but gave the Pride a boost in the second half by shooting 3-for-8 including a three-pointer. Fripp also added a team-high eight rebounds and three assists.

Hofstra, which shot 40.4 percent from the field in the game shot 44.4 percent in the second half on 12-of-27 from the field. The Pride shared the basketball very effectively, particularly Kiki Willliams who had seven assists for the night. Hofstra had 18 assists to Delaware’s nine.

The two teams traded baskets in the early-going, but after Delaware took an 8-6 lead on a jumper by Jenkins at the 17 minute mark, Hofstra went on a 12-0 run over the next three minutes and grabbed an 18-8 lead before Blue Hen Head Coach Tina Martin called a 30 second timeout.

After the timeout, Delaware went on an11-0 run capped by the first of Meghan McLean’s two three-point field goals on the night, and the Blue Hens had the lead back at 19-18 with 8:53 left in the first half. The two teams would trade baskets from there on out, and they went into their respective locker rooms knotted at 26.

Delaware would tie the score twice in the first three minutes of the second half, but the Hens would never take a second-half lead. Jenkins made both her free-throws at the 17:16 mark for the second tie of the second half and seventh of the game, but a three-pointer by Capurso would put the Pride ahead for good.

The Blue Hens would stay within striking distance the rest of the way, with Benison twice closing the gap to just one nearing the 10-minute mark. But an Asia Jenkins lay-up put Hofstra back up by three and the Pride steadily pulled away from there.

Delaware will be back in action on Sunday at 2 p.m. against first-place Virginia Commonwealth at the Bob Carpenter Center. The game will be televised by the Comcast Network.

AGATE:

DELAWARE (11-10, 3-7)
Riddick, 0-0 0-0 0; Jenkins, 1-6 3-4 5; Kabongo, 3-11 4-4 10; Benison, 5-13 1-2 11; Harris, 5-16 2-4 15; Bailey, 0-2 0-0 0; McLean, 2-2 0-0 6; Thomas, 0-1 0-0 0; Gibson, 0-1 2-7 2; Totals, 16-52 12-21 44.

HOFSTRA (13-8, 5-5)
Connelly, 0-2 2-2 2; Fuller, 11-14 1-2 23; Fripp, 4-8 2-4 11; Brigham, 2-7 0-0 4; Williams, 1-4 2-4 5; Jenkins, 1-2 0-0 2; Terry, 0-1 0-0 0; Capurso, 4-18 2-4 11; Campbell, 0-0 0-0 0; Wilcots, 0-1 0-0 0; Totals, 23-57 9-16 35.

Halftime Score: HU 26, Delaware 26; Three-Point Field Goals: D – 5-10 (Harris 3-7), HU – 3-20 (Capurso 1-11); Rebounds: D – 44 (Jenkins, Harris 9), HU – 35 (Fripp 8). Assists: D – 9 (Beinson 4), HU – 18 (Williams 7). Total Fouls: D – 17, HU – 19. Attendance – 233.