WALTHAM, Mass. – The Bentley University women's basketball team, currently ranked 12th in Division II and fourth in the NCAA Division II East Region, will continue its bid for a 20th Northeast-10 Conference tournament championship when it hosts Saint Anselm College in a semifinal game at the Dana Center Thursday night at 7 pm. A free webcast will be available at www.northeast10.tv.

Bentley, 26-6 all-time in NE10 semifinal contests, will be attempting to reach the championship game, which will be held Sunday afternoon, for the record 27th time. The Falcons advanced to the semis with a 76-43 quarterfinal win over Merrimack Sunday afternoon, a victory that extended the team's winning streaks to 13 overall and 16 in NE10 tournament contests.

Saint Anselm, 19-9 overall and the number three seed out of the Northeast Division, punched its ticket for the semis by upending American International 76-53 on Sunday. The Hawks are in the semis for the 14th time overall and first time since 2000, and will be looking to reach the title game for the seventh time.

The two clubs met twice during the regular season with Bentley prevailing in both, 67-54 in Manchester Nov. 30 and 92-66 two weeks ago in Waltham.

While the team's success is the primary concern, two players who have played key roles in Bentley attaining a 25-4 record this winter are closing in on significant individual milestones that could be achieved Thursday.

Senior All-America forward and two-time Northeast-10 Player of the Year Jen Gemma (Milton/ Fontbonne Academy) needs 13 points to become the all-time leading scorer in the history of the storied Bentley program. Former teammate Lauren Battista finished her career three years ago with 2,112 points and Gemma stands at an even 2,100 after scoring 15 in three quarters against Merrimack.

Junior guard Lauren Green (Damascus, Md./Damascus HS), a second-team All-Conference honoree, is ten points away from becoming the 34th 1,000 point scorer in program annals and the 18th to achieve the feat prior to her final season.

This season, Gemma is averaging 18.7 points and 8.6 rebounds for the Falcons. Her scoring average is the fourth highest in program history, trailing the 20.0 she achieved last year, her 19.5 from her sophomore year and Alison Fay's 18.9 from 1981-82. The three-time All-Northeast-10 honoree, who has helped Bentley to a 100-26 record since her arrival on campus, is currently third in the conference in scoring.

Green has averaged a career-best 12.5 points this season while shooting 42 percent from three-point land and climbing to fifth on Bentley's all-time list for career triples (179). Her 74 trifectas this season is tied for the most in the conference and is third most in school history, trailing only Keri Flynn (101 in 2002-03) and Lori Bender (83 in 1988-89).

The remainder of the usual starting unit for Hall of Fame coach Barbara Stevens includes junior point guard Macchi Smith (Los Angeles, Calif./Windward School), sophomore forward Victoria Lux (Arundel, Maine/Thornton Academy) and junior guard Trevena Bennett (Union, N.J./Gill St. Bernard HS).

Smith, who joined Green on the All-Conference second team, is the team's third double-digit scorer, averaging 11 points along with 4.9 rebounds and 4.4 assists. Bennett scores 5.7 a game and Lux is the team's second-leading rebounder (6.9 overall, 9.2 over the last 10 games).

Off the bench, sophomore guard Amy McConnell (South Windsor, Conn./South Windsor HS) has her average up 5.2 after making 12 of 17 threes since Feb. 4.

Saint Anselm, which has won 11 of its last 14, features Northeast-10 Defensive Player of the Year Candace Andrews, the conference leader in steals (96) and assists (165). She's also fifth in the NE10 in scoring (16.9) and fourth in field goal attempts (428). Against the Falcons, the two-time first-team All-Conference honoree averages 21 points, five assists, five rebounds and four steals.

Senior forwards Caitlyn Abela and Kaila Duarte are also players to watch for the Julie Plant-coached Hawks. Abela has drained 60 three-pointers while building an 11.1 scoring average and Duarte is close to averaging a double-double (9.6 points, 9.7 rebounds).

In the other semifinal, Adelphi University is hosting Le Moyne down on Long Island. Like the Bentley-Saint Anselm match-up, that pits a one-seed against a third seed.

Sunday's championship game will be held at Adelphi if the Panthers are involved. Otherwise, the Bentley-Saint Anselm winner will be the host.