WALTHAM, Mass. – With the top seed in the upcoming Northeast-10 Conference Women's Basketball Championships locked up, the Bentley University Falcons will look to build momentum heading into the postseason when they close out the regular season at home Tuesday night against Merrimack College. Tip-off is at 5:30 pm with a free webcast available at www.bentleyfalcons.tv.

Bentley, the number one team in last week's NCAA Division II East Region rankings, will be looking to bounce back from Saturday's 65-57 loss at Saint Anselm. That dropped the Falcons, who had previously clinched the NE-10 Northeast Division title, to 21-5 overall (15-5 NE-10) and kept the countdown on the number of wins needed for 1,000 all-time at two.

In that one, Bentley managed only 14 points in the game's final 14 minutes, misfiring on 21 of their final 24 shots. Until freshman guard Megan Lewis (Sevenoaks, England) got hot late, the frontcourt duo of junior Jen Gemma (Milton/Fontbonne Academy) and freshman Victoria Lux (Arundel, Maine/Thornton Academy) accounted for 38 of the Falcons' first 50 points.

Merrimack will come into the Dana Center tied with Stonehill College for fifth place in the Northeast Division with records of 13-13 overall and 9-11 NE-10. The Warriors have won four in a row but will need to make it five in order to qualify for the conference championship tournament.

In the earlier meeting between Bentley and Merrimack, the Falcons jumped out to a 40-22 lead at the half and withstood a six-point third quarter before pulling out a 68-60 win. The Warriors closed to within one twice in the fourth and were down by just four with less than two minutes to play before Bentley closed the door. Gemma scored a game-high 22 points for the Falcons, who were plagued by a season-high 26 turnovers.

Gemma, whose 1,372 career points are the second most ever by a Falcon before her senior year (Lauren Battista '14 had 1,504), continues to lead the conference in scoring at 19.7 a game. She's had at least 18 in each of the last six games, producing an average of 22.7 during that span.

Lux posted career-bests in both points (20) and rebounds (12) at Saint Anselm, raising her season norms to 6.7 points and 5.6 rebounds.

In between Gemma and Lux on Bentley's scoring list are Lewis and sophomore guard Lauren Green (Damascus, Md./Damascus HS). Green, number two in the NE-10 in three-point accuracy (.414), is at 9.8 points a game and Lewis follows at 9.2.

Rounding out the probable starters for coach Barbara Stevens, who is one win away from 950 career, is the team's lone senior, Jane White (Amherst, N.H./Souhegan HS).

Merrimack has five seniors on its roster, including the team's top scorers. Guard Caitlyn Garger, who missed the first half of the season, has climbed to the top of the list at 10.0 ppg after scoring 26 and 13 in her last two games. Guard Ashley Weissmann follows at nine a game, and point guard Tia Scott is the NE-10 leader in assists with 178. She needs seven more to reach 500 for her career.

Bentley will host a Northeast-10 quarterfinal game on Sunday afternoon against an opponent to be determined.