Becca Musgrove
Becca Musgrove

53-Point 2nd-Half Powers No. 7 Bentley to Comeback Win at Le Moyne & Gives Stevens Win No. 996

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Sizzling second-half shooting, both overall and from distance, erased an 11-point deficit and powered Bentley University, the nation's seventh-ranked Division II team, to a 71-59 win over Le Moyne College in Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball Wednesday night on Ted Grant Court.

After a dismal offensive first half, Bentley made 19 of 29 (.655) after play resumed, including eight of nine from three-point land to turn the game around and move coach Barbara Stevens to within four of 1,000 for her storied career.

Junior post Victoria Lux (Arundel, Maine/Thornton Academy) led the Falcons with 16 points and 13 rebounds, the double-double her seventh, while both senior guard Lauren Green (Damascus, Md./Damascus HS) and graduate guard Becca Musgrove (Plainview, N.Y./St. Anthony's HS) followed with 13.

The Falcons' fifth straight win pushed Bentley to 13-1 overall and 7-1 NE10, maintaining a tie in the Northeast Division with Stonehill.  Le Moyne, which had won three in a row, dropped to 7-6 overall and 3-4 conference,

Despite scoring the game's first six points, including a nice block from Lux that led to a fast-break three from senior guard Macchi Smith (Los Angeles, Calif./Windward School), Bentley went into the halftime break on the short end of a 27-18 score. It was the Falcons' lowest scoring half of the season by a wide margin with the visitors shooting only .259 during the opening 20 minutes.

While Bentley was limited to seven points in the second quarter, the Dolphins had a pair of seven-point runs that produced an 11-point lead, 25-14. Senior forward Nicole Riddick (Albany, N.Y.) led the home team in the half, scoring eight points.

Down seven midway through the third, Bentley finished the stanza with a 16-3 run to take a 46-40 lead into the fourth. The spurt included triples from Musgrove, senior forward Cassie Smith (Edison, N.J./Metuchen HS), sophomore guard Maddy Springfield (Jaffrey, N.H./Conant HS) and junior guard Amy McConnell (South Windsor, Conn./South Windsor HS).

Bentley also received two trifectas from Green during a third quarter in which five different Falcons combined to make six of seven from deep.

The visitors put the game away with an 11-2 spurt in the fourth, one that extended a seven-point lead to 16, 66-50 with 2:27 left.

Green finished with four of her team's 10 triples while Musgrove filled the stat sheet with four steals, four rebounds and three assists. Bentley also received eight points from junior guard Megan Lewis (Sevenoaks, England) along with seven from McConnell. Macchi Smith pitched in with seven assists, six points and four rebounds.

Riddick led Le Moyne with 21 points and seven rebounds, including six at the offensive end.

Overall, Bentley outshot the Dolphins 46-36 percent while dominating from three. The Falcons canned 10 of 20 from deep while Le Moyne, which regularly used the entire shot clock, was only 3 of 13.

After four straight on the road, the Falcons will be home on Saturday for a 1:30 pm encounter against The College of Saint Rose.