WALTHAM, Mass. – The 104th edition of one of the premier rivalries in Division II women's basketball will take place Saturday when the nationally-ranked Bentley University Falcons travel to Stonehill College for a 1:30 pm encounter  at Merkert Gymnasium.  For those who can't make it, a free webcast will be available at www.stonehillskyhawks.tv.

The two clubs top the Northeast-10 Conference's Northeast Division standings with Bentley owning a two-game advantage on the Skyhawks. The Falcons, riding a three-game winning streak and ranked 14th in the WBCA Division II coaches poll, are 8-2 overall and 6-0 in conference play. Stonehill, after a 73-61 loss to Southern New Hampshire Wednesday, is 5-4 overall and 4-2 NE-10.

Bentley, during the current streak, has limited its opponents to 57 points a game on .376 shooting overall and .217 from three. They've allowed a total of ten three-pointers and only 27 free throws in the three contests.

The most recent win for Hall of Fame coach Barbara Stevens' team came on Wednesday when the Falcons dispatched St. Michael's College, 80-59. The point total was a season-high and the team had their second best rebound margin of the season at plus-18.

Senior All-America forward Jen Gemma (Milton/Fontbonne Academy) scored a season-best 26 against the Purple Knights while moving past Danielle Chaisson '98 into fourth on Bentley's all-time scoring list with 1,732 points. She made 10 of 17 from the field and also took a pair of charges at the defensive end.

Gemma, whose average climbed to 17.4, tops a list of three double-figure scorers for the Falcons. Junior guards Lauren Green (Damascus, Md./Damascus HS) and Macchi Smith (Los Angeles, Calif./Windward School) are also part of the club, at 13.0 and 11.1, respectively. Green has knocked down 12 threes in the last four games while Smith has had at least one steal in every game.

Senior forward Parker Gregory (Fishkill, N.Y./John Jay HS) has elevated her rebound production to 5.8 a game after five straight with at least seven.

Rebounding is a strength of this year's Stonehill team, which will be looking to halt a two-game home losing streak. While Bentley has been outrebounded by about one a game, the Skyhawks are fourth in the NE10 with a +5.3 rebound margin. Seven different players collect at least three a game with junior forward Samantha Hyslip providing a team-best 7.8.

Junior guard Courtney Walsh and Hyslip are the team's top scoring threats, averaging 16.2 and 14.2 points, respectively. Walsh has been responsible for 36 of Stonehill's 45 three-pointers with nearly 75 percent of her points coming from outside the arc.  

Bentley's 66-37 advantage in the all-time series includes three victories last year (80-69, 53-50 and 54-50). The latter came in the quarterfinals of the NE10 championships and featured a career-high 34 points for Gemma.

Saturday's game will be the last for Bentley against a conference opponent until 2017. The Falcons will be off until a week from Sunday  when they host LIU Post.