SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Junior guard Courtney Finn (Winthrop/Winthrop HS) registered her second double-double of the season, finishing with 15 points and 11 rebounds, and the Falcon bench scored as many points as the entire American International College team as Bentley University ran its record to 13-2 with a 79-43 win in Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball Wednesday night at Butova Gymnasium.

Bentley, ranked ninth nationally in Division II, notched its ninth win in 10 conference games, maintaining a one-game lead in the NE-10 standings. AIC, limited to just 28 percent shooting and outrebounded 46-22, dropped to 5-9 overall and 4-6 in the conference.

After several early lead changes, the Bentley defense held the Jackets without a field goal for about eight-and-a-half minutes.  During that stretch, five different Falcons scored during a 14-2 surge that put the visitors up 20-9 with 9:30 left in the half.

A couple minutes later, Bentley embarked on a run of 21 unanswered points, stretching the lead to a commanding 43-14 with 1:37 left. Senior forward Shatasia Kearse (Framingham/Lincoln-Sudbury HS) scored the first six and the Falcons made 14 of 14 free throws during the span.  Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets came up empty on 11 straight possessions (0-for-9, 0 offensive rebounds, 2 turnovers).

Bentley's lead at the intermission was 22, 43-21, after AIC scored the final seven points. Kearse and sophomore forward Jacqui Brugliera (Fitchburg/Wachusett Reg. HS) each had eight in the half to pace the Falcons, and eight others also cracked the scoring column.

The second half featured another run, this one 11-0 to make it a 60-28 game with 11 minutes left. That run was finished by back-to-back threes from senior guard Katherine Goodwin (Goffstown, N.H./Governors Academy) and Brugliera.

The Bentley lead peaked with a little more than two minutes to play, a basket from freshman forward Carlene Kluge (Reading/Reading HS) making it 79-41.

Finn claimed six offensive rebounds en route to her double-double and also had a pair of assists. Kearse led the scoring off the bench with 12 and Brugliera followed with 11. Junior guard and co-captain Kelsey Roberson (Arlington/Arlington Catholic HS) didn't miss a shot while scoring nine points, and junior forward Caleigh Crowell (Harwich/Worcester Academy) knocked down two triples on her way to eight points.

Sophomore forward Lauren Battista (North Easton/Oliver Ames HS), the number two scorer in the NE-10 with a 20.1 average entering the night, had a quiet game, finishing with four points, five rebounds and three assists in 15 foul-plagued minutes.

Senior forward Rhea Pascal (Pickering, Ont.) topped the scoring list for AIC, finishing with 12 points.

Bentley, which made 12 of its first 18 shots, finished the game at 47 percent overall, including an 8-for-20 effort from three, and had a 23-6 edge in second-chance points due to 17 offensive boards. AIC (28 percent shooting) finished with more turnovers (15) than field goals (13).

Bentley is back home for its next two, beginning Saturday against Saint Rose (1:30 pm).