WALTHAM, Mass. – The unblemished record and number one ranking in the WBCA Division II coaches' poll will be put to the test twice this weekend as the Bentley University women's basketball team begins a string of four straight away from home.

Coach Barbara Stevens' club, off to a 5-0 start, will visit NYIT on Saturday (1 pm) in a rematch of the 2016 NCAA Division II East Regional final and the University of Bridgeport Sunday afternoon at 2 pm.

Bentley is coming off a 76-65 win over Assumption on Tuesday night, a game in which the Falcons shot a season-best .529 overall and dominated in the paint, 44-24. Senior All-America forward Jen Gemma (Milton/Fontbonne Academy) topped the scoring list with 20 points and junior point guard Macchi Smith (Los Angeles, Calif./Windward School) followed with 19, her most in nearly two years.

Gemma's second straight and 34th career 20-point game boosted her scoring average to a team-best 18.4 and elevated her career total to 1,650 points. She will enter the weekend needing only three points to surpass Tracie Seymour '93 for seventh place on the program's all-time scoring list.

Smith and junior guard Lauren Green (Damascus, Md./Damascus HS) are Bentley's other double-figure scorers. Green, a 48-percent shooter from three-point land, is at 12.8 and Smith is up to 11.6. She also provides 4.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.8 steals a game, and has a team-best .571 shooting percentage.

Sophomore forward Victoria Lux (Arundel, Maine/Thornton Academy) nearly turned in a double-double off the bench against Assumption, coming up a rebound shy, and is now producing six rebounds and 4.4 points a game.

As a team, Bentley leads the Northeast-10 in scoring defense (56.2) and opponents'  field goal percentage (.337), and on the other side of the ball, is second in both field goal percentage (.435) and free throw accuracy (.745).

NYIT, off to a 4-2 start under first-year head coach Kenny Parham, will be looking to bounce back from a 62-57 Thanksgiving Eve loss to LIU Post.  The Bears have four double-figure scorers, a list topped by five-foot-seven senior Shannon Duer and six-foot freshman Margaret Knollmeyer. Both are averaging double-doubles with Duer at 14.8 points and 10.3 rebounds and Knollmeyer at 14.2 and 10.2.

Bridgeport has won three in a row after a season-opening loss to Philadelphia. The Purple Knights have held their opponents to a .318 shooting mark and are led by junior guard Aurelie Leblanc-Florent, who produces nearly 15 points a game. She's the team's premier three-point threat, having hit 14 of 35 from distance (.400).

Bentley will resume NE-10 play next week, visiting Saint Anselm Wednesday and Southern New Hampshire a week from Saturday.