WALTHAM, Mass. – After a wire-to-wire win over Saint Rose on Wednesday, the Bentley University women's basketball team will look to improve on its Northeast-10 Conference-best record Saturday afternoon when Southern Connecticut State makes a visit to the Dana Center. The opening jump is set for 1:30 pm and a free webcast will be available at www.bentleyfalcons.tv.

The 70-55 win against a Saint Rose team that had won 10 of its previous 11 boosted the Bentley Falcons to 16-3 overall and 10-3 NE-10, good for a two-game advantage in the conference's Northeast Division. Coach Barbara Stevens' team, number 13 in the D2SIDA Division II media poll, has won four in a row and ten of its last 11.

They'll be facing a Southern Connecticut team that has won five of its last seven, including a buzzer-beater against Assumption Tuesday night. The Owls, under first-year head coach Kate Lynch, are 14-7 overall and 7-6 in the NE-10. They are third in the Southwest Division, two games back of American International.

In Wednesday's win, Bentley allowed only two points over the first eight minutes of the first quarter and pitched a shutout for the first seven minutes of the second to open a commanding 30-9 lead. The differential grew to 28 before the Golden Knights made the score respectable with a strong fourth quarter.

Bentley All-Conference forward Jen Gemma (Milton/Fontbonne Academy) continues to lead the NE-10 in scoring with her average back up to 19.4 after scoring 26 and 21 points in her last two contests. The six-foot junior has made 17 of 27 shots in the last two games, an accuracy rate of  .630, and is tied with Southern Connecticut' Jackie Bethea for the conference lead in double-doubles (12).

The Saint Rose game featured an impressive showing from freshman forward Victoria Lux (Arundel, Maine/Thornton Academy) as she tied her career-high of 16 points without missing a shot. She finished seven-of-seven from the floor and led the team with eight rebounds, giving her a 7.3 average in the last four.

Freshman guard Megan Lewis (Sevenoaks, England) scored in doubles for the sixth time in the last eight contests, finishing with 12 on five-of-seven shooting. The NE-10 steal leader also stretched her string of consecutive games with at least one theft to 18.

Southern Connecticut has a potent front line, led by seniors Danielle Powell and Jackie Beathea. Powell leads the team in scoring, averaging 13 with a team-best .440 field goal percentage.

Bethea, in addition to scoring 12.1 a game, is a major force on the boards with her 13.0 average the best nationally in Division II. She grabs nearly half of those at the offensive end, collecting 131 of her team's errant shots, 57 more than any other player in the NE-10. In fact, if she didn't have a single defensive rebound this season, she'd still rank tenth in the conference in total boards!

The Owls also receive 9.2 points a game from junior forward Taylor McLaughlin and junior guard Maria Weselyi is a 45 percent shooter from three-point land.

Next week, Bentley will return to intra-divisional play with the Falcons visiting Stonehill Wednesday and hosting Assumption Saturday.