WALTHAM, Mass. –Junior guard Lauren Green (Damascus, Md./Damascus HS) used seven three-pointers to score a career-high 26 points in 26 minutes, senior All-America forward Jen Gemma (Milton/Fontbonne Academy) moved into second in program history in career points and the team made a school-record 15 three-pointers as Bentley University opened 2017 with a 103-66 win over Holy Family University in non-conference women's college basketball at the  Dana Center New Year's Day.

Bentley, which scored a school-record 31 points in the second quarter in its first New Year's Day game in 24 years, reached the century mark for the first time since the national championship season of 2014 while amassing 30 assists and only three turnovers.  The Falcons, ranked 11th in Division II by the WBCA and 12th in the D2SIDA media poll, improved to 11-3 overall with all 11 players who played scoring and collecting a rebound.

With the game tied at 17-17, Bentley took charge with a 15-2 run during a six-minute stretch spanning the end of the first quarter and the first two minutes of the second. Gemma had five of the 15, with her second chance lay-up with 8:19 left in the second lifting her past Kelly Barker '01 into second on the program's scoring list. She finished the game with 1,814, 14 more than the former Falcon All-America, the Falcons' all-time leading scorer from 2001-14.

Coach Barbara Stevens' team closed the opening half with a 19-6 blast over the final 5:50 to take a 55-32 lead into the break. In the quarter, the Falcons scored 31 points, bettering the previous standard of 30, set in the fourth quarter of an NCAA regional win over Queens in March.

Any hopes the Tigers (3-10) had of a comeback were smashed when Bentley used a 17-2 run during a span of 2:45 at the end of the third and start of the fourth. That was fueled by sophomore guard Amy McConnell (South Windsor, Conn./South Windsor HS), who had three triples and 11 points in that brief time.

The Falcons reached and passed the 100-point mark on a 15-foot jumper by freshman guard Julia Ford (Charlton/Noble and Greenough School) with 1:51 to play.

Green, who put up a 21-point first half, made 9 of 13 shots overall, including 7 of 11 from three. She came within one of the school record for triples in a game despite not leaving the bench during the final stanza.

Gemma followed with 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting and also had seven rebounds, all coming at the offensive end. McConnell finished with 11 points and four assists, and sophomore forward Victoria Lux (Arundel, Maine/Thornton Academy) joined her teammates in doubles with 10 points and five rebounds. Junior guard Macchi Smith (Los Angeles, Calif./Windward School) delivered  a career-best ten of Bentley's 30 assists without committing a turnover.

The Falcons also received eight points apiece from junior guards Trevena Bennett (Union, N.J./ Gill St. Bernard HS) and Cassie Smith (Edison, N.J./Metuchen HS). Bennett added five rebounds and three assists and Smith provided three rebounds, two assists and two steals in 19 minutes off the bench.

Senior guard Jill Conroy (Brooklyn, N.Y.) carried Holy Family with 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting, five assists and two steals.

Bentley had its best shooting game of the season, finishing at .565 overall and .556 from outside the three-point line. The Falcons were also 10-of-13 from the line, making twice as many free throws as the Tigers, and owned the boards with a 44-27 rebounding advantage. Holy Family also took care of the basketball, losing it only eight times.

Bentley will conclude its four-game homestand  and resume Northeast-10 play next Saturday with a 1:30 pm encounter with the University of New Haven.