WALTHAM, Mass. – Following the first loss in 611 days and the ending of the fourth-longest winning streak in Division II history, the Bentley University women's basketball team will look to get back on track when it launches its home schedule against Stonehill College Saturday afternoon at the Dana Center, with tip-off set for 1:30 pm.

The 99th all-time meeting between the two will be preceded by a ceremony, beginning at 1:15 pm, in which the 2014 NCAA Division II national championship banner will be unveiled.

The defending national champions slipped to 2-1 overall when they dropped their Northeast-10 Conference opener Wednesday night, 65-62 at Assumption. Turnovers were costly as 23 giveaways, including three in the opening three minutes, led to 23 Greyhound points. The Falcons closed within two a couple times down the stretch, but could never completely eliminate the deficit that had faced them since the opening basket.

Negated by the loss was a sensational rebound game by sophomore forward Jen Gemma (Milton/Fontbonne Academy). She ripped down 23, just two shy of the school record that has lasted since 1975 and the most by a Northeast-10 player since 2011. Gemma claimed 17 defensive boards and matched Assumption's total with six offensive rebounds.

Gemma posted her third straight double-double and will enter Saturday's game with averages of 14.7 points and a conference-leading 16 rebounds.

Freshmen will play a significant role on this year's team and through three games, the members of the Class of 2018 have accounted for 44 percent of the minutes. Three of those newcomers scored in doubles against Assumption with point guard Macchi Smith (Los Angeles, Calif./Windward School) scoring 12 off the bench, forward Trevena Bennett (Union, N.J./Gill St. Bernard's HS) netting 11, and guard Lauren Green (Damascus, Md./Damascus HS) 10.

Bennett, the reigning NE-10 Rookie of the Week, has hit half of her 20 three-point attempts and owns a team-best 15.0 scoring average. Green, who has also started the first three games, averages 7.3 a game. Smith leads the team in assists (9) and is also contributing 5.3 points and 6.7 rebounds a game.

Sophomore forward Brittany Gregory (Fishkill, N.Y./John Jay HS) was one of the top contributing non-starters in the conference during the first week, giving the Falcons 8.3 points and 8.3 rebounds a game while shooting 65 percent overall.

Stonehill will come into the Dana Center with a 3-0 record, including a 74-69 conference win over Merrimack, with six-foot-two senior Tori Faieta (Lynn) a major reason for the success. The first NE-10 Player of the Year of the season and the newest member of the Skyhawks' 1,000-point club, she's averaged 22 points and 13.3 rebounds in the first three games.

Senior guard Amy Pelletier (Beverly) and junior guard Paige Marshall (Braintree) also sport double-figure scoring averages. Pelletier, who has eight three-pointers, scores 13 a game and Marshall is at 11.7.

Next week, Bentley will be on the road twice, playing at Southern New Hampshire Tuesday and at Dowling next Saturday.