WALTHAM, Mass. – After traveling to six of the season's first eight games, the Bentley University women's basketball team will get to play on the home court twice this week, beginning Tuesday night when the Falcons take on Franklin Pierce University in their final Northeast-10 Conference game before the calendar changes to 2015. Game time at the Dana Center is slated for 7 pm.

The Falcons will be looking to end a two-game slide and claim their first home win of the season, but it won't be easy. Franklin Pierce will make the trip to Waltham with a 6-2 overall record and a three-game winning streak.

Bentley, the defending NCAA Division II national champions, fell to 4-4 overall and 1-4 in the NE-10 with Saturday's 69-57 loss at St. Michael's. The Falcons made 9 of 19 three-pointers against the Purple Knights, but were limited to a season-low 57 points while turning the ball over 21 times, the fifth time in eight games they've lost it 20 times or more.

Three of Bentley's top four scorers are freshmen, including guard Macchi Smith (Los Angeles, Calif./Windward School) who was recognized as the Northeast-10 Spalding Rookie of the Week for the second straight week on Monday.

In last week's two contests, Smith averaged 17.5 points, five rebounds and five assists while shooting 52 percent overall, including four of nine from three, and making all seven of her free throws. She's scored in doubles in five of the last six games, including a career-best 23 in last Wednesday's game against Merrimack.

Smith, who has made half of her 22 three-point attempts, will enter Tuesday's contest with averages of 10.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists.

Freshman guard Lauren Green (Damascus, Md./Damascus HS) pushed her scoring norm to 10.9 with a career-best 21 points at St. Michael's. She buried five triples for the second time in her short collegiate career and is 14 of 27 from downtown over the last five games.

Rounding out the usual starting five for Women's Basketball Hall of Fame coach Barbara Stevens are senior forward Carlene Kluge (Reading/Reading HS), sophomore post Jen Gemma (Milton/ Fontbonne Academy) and freshman forward Trevena Bennett (Union, N.J./Gill St. Bernard HS). Gemma was held to four points at St. Michael's, but remains the conference's leader in rebounds (12.9) and double-doubles (6). She's also seventh in scoring with a 15.4 average.

Bennett has averaged 10.4 points during her first eight games, and Kluge had a career-high eight rebounds Saturday.

Franklin Pierce features six-foot junior Kelly Charette, the conference's number two scorer (20.1) and the current NE-10 Spalding Player of the Week. She averaged 23.5 points and 12.5 rebounds last week with a .625 field goal percentage.

Two of her teammates score at least ten a game, including six-foot grad student Jessica Hurd, one of six NE-10 players averaging a double-double (10.0 ppg, 10.3 rpg).

The Ravens are a team you want to keep off the foul line as their .789 free throw mark is sixth best in Division II.

Bentley's final home game of 2014 will be Sunday when the Falcons will face Holy Family at 1 pm.