BRIGHAM STARS AS HOFSTRA EARNS FIRST WIN AT JMU SINCE 2003-04

1/29/2010 2:00:00 AM

Harrisonburg, VA - Senior guard Sam Brigham tied a season-high with 19 points, including 10-10 from the free throw line, and had two late buckets in regulation to send the game to overtime as Hofstra escaped with a 69-62 victory over James Madison on Thursday evening at the Convocation Center.

The win was Hofstra's first in Harrisonburg since a 48-37 triumph over the Dukes during the 2003-04 campaign and improves the Pride's record to 11-9 and 4-4 in Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) play. It was also Hofstra's third win in its last four games and second straight overtime victory on the road.

James Madison falls to 15-4 and 5-3 in conference action, while seeing its modest two-game win streak come to an end. The Dukes were nationally ranked earlier this season and are currently receiving votes in the USA Today/ESPN Top 25 poll.

Brigham added a three-pointer in the contest and is now tied for seventh all-time in program history with 113 career three-pointers. She is tied with Colleen Montague (1991-96) and just one behind Diane Hobin (114 from 1991-95) for sixth place all-time.

A free throw line jumper from freshman forward Shante Evans with 14:13 left in the first half would give Hofstra its first lead of the contest at 9-8 before James Madison scored seven straight points and led 15-9 at the 12:46 mark, forcing a Pride timeout.

The run would expand to a 12-2 spurt in favor of the Dukes before it was ended by junior guard Aamira Terry with 9:08 to play before intermission.

Trailing 22-13 following a basket from Lauren Jimenez, Hofstra would turn the tables on the Dukes and outscore the home squad 13-5 over the next 3:22 to close the gap to 27-26 after a three-pointer from redshirt sophomore guard Candice Bellocchio with 5:39 remaining. Hofstra would trail by three, 31-28, with just under two minutes to play before halftime before the Dukes closed the half with four straight points to lead by seven at the break. Terry starred for the Pride in the opening twenty minutes as the Atlanta, Georgia native eclipsed her season-high (eight points) with 11 points on perfect shooting (3-3 from the field, 5-5 from the field throw line).

Hofstra would score the first four points of the second stanza, all on free throws from Brigham, and in addition hold James Madison scoreless for the first four-plus minutes of the half to trail 35-32 at the first media timeout of the second half (15:32 remaining).

The second half would begin well for the Pride as Hofstra opened up the stanza on a 9-1 run that included an old-fashioned three-point play from Shante Evans at the 15:11 mark to bring Hofstra to within 36-35 before a jumper from Bellocchio gave the Pride its first lead of the contest at 37-36 with 14:35 to play in regulation.

With the score tied at 42, Dawn Evans of James Madison, the nation's leading scorer coming into the contest, would score seven straight points to put the Dukes up 49-42 at the 10:56 mark. A great defensive effort all game by the Pride on Dawn Evans forced James Madison's leading scorer into a 5-24 shooting night en route to 15 points.

After falling behind by seven, Hofstra would score 10 of the next 15 points in the contest and trail 54-52 at the final media timeout of the contest (3:39 left).

Hofstra would still trail by one, 56-54, with 1:22 to play after a baseline driving layup from Brigham before Brigham was huge once again moments later and went the length of the court to knot the game at 56 with 11.9 seconds left. JMU would be unable to score on its final possession of regulation, sending the contest to overtime and marking Hofstra's second straight road game that has gone to an extra session.

Just as they had done against UNC Wilmington on January 17, Hofstra got off to a hot start in the overtime period as the Pride scored the first six points and led 62-56 after a pair of free throws from freshman guard Candace Bond. Bellocchio got Hofstra on the board to start the overtime as she nailed a three-pointer thirty seconds in. A layup from Jimenez at the 2:02 mark would bring the deficit for JMU back to four, but Bond had a basket and two free throws around a pair of free throws from Brigham to give Hofstra its largest lead of the game, 68-58, with 44 seconds remaining. Hofstra was 8-10 from the charity stripe in the overtime to seal the victory, and was 30-36 for the game from the free throw line.

Bellocchio finished with 15 points and a game-high tying four assists, while Shante Evans added 10 points and eight rebounds.

Jimenez added 14 points for the Dukes, while Sarah Williams chipped in with 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

The contest was a homecoming of sorts for Hofstra Head Coach Krista Kilburn-Steveskey, who spent four seasons as an assistant coach with the Dukes prior to being named the head coach at Hofstra in May 2006. Since becoming the head coach of the Pride, Kilburn-Steveskey has accumulated 58 wins, which ranks third all-time in program history.

Hofstra continues its current string of three straight contests away from home on Sunday when they travel to Norfolk, Virginia to face Old Dominion at 2 p.m.

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