SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Bentley University Falcons exceeded all expectations during the 2015-16 season but saw their hopes for a second national championship in three years dashed by an undefeated Lubbock Christian University team, 67-57, Wednesday night in the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball national semifinals at the Sanford Pentagon.

Lubbock Christian, now 34-0 and headed to the April 4 national championship game in Indianapolis, took charge of the contest in the second, outscoring the Falcons 28-12, and used a 10-0 run around the break between the third and fourth quarters to open a commanding 22-point lead, 58-36.

Bentley head coach Barbara Stevens, who saw her team fight back throughout the fourth, praised her team in the postgame press conference. "As difficult as any loss is, I'm extremely proud of our season and what we accomplished this year. We left it all out there on the court."

Bentley junior All-America forward Jen Gemma (Milton, Mass./Fontbonne Academy) led all scorers with 25 points, on 10-of-17 shooting, and the Falcons also received 12 points and five assists from freshman guard Megan Lewis (Sevenoaks, England).

All-America senior guard Nicole Hampton (Canyon, Texas) led the Lady Chaps with 21 points, seven rebounds and two steals, and Kelsey Hoppel, a senior guard who spurred LCU's big second quarter, followed with 20 points and six steals.

After the two clubs battled to a 10-10 draw after one, Hampton and Hoppel combined for 21 in the second alone, on six of nine shooting. Hoppel scored 13 in the quarter, including a pair of three-pointers, and made two steals.

Hoppel's two threes came 20 seconds apart, in the midst of a 12-2 burst that turned a 12-12 game into a 24-14 Lubbock Christian advantage in just a two-minute time frame. The Lady Chaps closed the opening half with a 10-5 run to go into the locker room riding a 16-point advantage, 38-22.

Bentley opened the second half on a strong note, using a 12-6 run to get within ten at 44-34. Lewis drained a pair of three-pointers, one from the left wing and the other from the right wing, and Gemma scored the other six.

The Falcons were still within 12 when the Lady Chaps ran off six unanswered over the final two minutes of the third on lay-ups by senior guard Haley Fowler (Smyer, Texas), Hoppel and Hampton. Lubbock continued the run to start the fourth, scoring the first four to go up 22

"Lubbock Christian is a tremendous team and it's very difficult to stop all of their weapons," said Stevens.  

Bentley battled throughout the fourth, and in the end, it became the fourth closest game the Lady Chaps have had all season. Seven unanswered – two inside baskets by Gemma and a left corner three from sophomore guard Macchi Smith (Los Angeles, Calif./Windward School) – brought the Falcons within 14 at 60-46 with just under five minutes to play. The Lady Chaps were limited to just one more field goal the rest of the way, but the deficit proved too big to overcome.

Bentley finished with two fewer turnovers, 16 as compared with Lubbock's 18, but the Lady Chaps were the one who was able to capitalize with points off favoring the Texans, 17-6.

Hampton and Hoppel were a combined 14 of 24 from the floor but the Falcons limited their teammates to just 11 of 34. Overall, Lubbock shot 43 percent and Bentley finished at 37 percent.

All but one player from the Falcons' 29-6 team will return next season, the lone exception being senior co-captain Jane White (Amherst, N.H./Souhegan HS). She posted seven assists, three steals, five points and four rebounds in her final collegiate season.

"The season has been unbelievable," said Gemma, who'll begin next year 12th on the program's all-time scoring list. "To go from 11-16 and not making the conference tournament last year to making the Final Four, I couldn't be more proud of my teammates."   

Postgame Press Conference