WALTHAM, Mass. – Before embarking on an 11-day holiday break, one more task faces the undefeated Bentley University women's basketball team, a Sunday afternoon home encounter with Molloy College.

Tip-off at the Dana Center is set for 1 pm and for those who can't attend, a free webcast will be available through NE10 NOW.

Bentley, in the midst of a five-game homestand, will bring an 11-0 record and a pair of top five rankings (number five by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association, number two by D2SIDA) into its penultimate game of the calendar year.

Molloy, after putting together a five-game winning streak, has lost three straight to fall to 5-4 overall. The Lions averaged only 46.3 points in those games, coming up short against LIU Post, NYIT and Bridgeport.

Coach Barbara Stevens' team, which leads the NE10's Northeast Division by two games, completed the first round of divisional play with a 72-65 win over Merrimack College on Tuesday. That boosted the squad to 7-0 in conference play while the other six all have at least two conference losses.

Against Merrimack, sophomore guard Katie Meriggioli (Waunakee, Wis.) led four double-figure scorers with 15 points, senior center Victoria Lux (Arundel, Maine/Thornton Academy) became the program's newest 1,000-point scorer, and eight of the nine Falcons who played had multiple assists.

Bentley finished with 25 assists on 27 baskets with junior guard Maddy Springfield (Jaffrey, N.H./Conant HS) leading the way with five. It was the fourth time this season the Falcons have had an assist percentage of 80 percent or better.

Meriggioli and Lux lead the Falcons in scoring, averaging 13.7 and 13.1 points respectively. Meriggioli is having a strong shooting season, ranking second in the conference in three-point accuracy (22-44, .500) as well as in the top ten in field goal percentage (.500) and free throw shooting (23-28, .521). Lux is only 11 rebounds away from becoming the eighth Falcon with at least 800, an elite club that includes Alison Fay '84, Kelly Barker '01, Jen Gemma '17, Nina Houghton '89, Lauren Battista '14, Jacqui Brugliera '14 and Danielle Chaisson '98.

Meriggioli and Lux are joined in Stevens' starting five by Springfield and senior guards Amy McConnell (South Windsor, Conn./South Windsor HS) and Megan Lewis (Sevenoaks, England). McConnell, the team leader in assists (44) and steals (16), is fourth in the NE10 in three-point shooting (15-31, .484), and Lewis averages 10.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 steals.

Both junior post Monica Viapiano (Holden/Wachusett Reg. HS) and freshman guard Kolleen Bouchard (Houlton, Maine/Houlton HS) scored in doubles off the bench against Merrimack, with 14 and 10 respectively. Viapiano is fourth on the team in scoring at 9.7 and Bouchard is up to 7.3.

The Falcons, one of 12 remaining unbeaten teams, continue to lead Division II in three-point shooting (.438) and are third in assists per game (20.4). They also rank seventh in assist-turnover ratio (1.33), 11th in scoring (81.0) and 13th in scoring margin (+22.0).

After connecting at a 44 percent clip in November, Molloy has had trouble putting the ball in the basket this month. They've shot 35 percent or less in four straight games and have made only 16 of 71 from three-point land. Meanwhile, their last three opponents are the first to shoot over .400 against the Lion defense.

Senior guard Tyra Harrison leads the team in scoring at 10.3, although she's been quiet of late after opening the season with 18 against Jefferson and 25 against Chestnut Hill. Sophomore guard Melody Pritchard follows at 9.3 points per game and is a perfect 17-of-17 at the charity stripe.

Another Lion to keep an eye on is five-foot-two senior Ihnacinse Grady, who has 30 steals, including at least four five times.

The road team has won the previous two meetings between Bentley and Molloy. The Lions pulled out a 56-55 win here at the Dana New Year's Eve day in 2016 and the Falcons turned the tables on Long Island last year, 66-42.    

After the break, Bentley will resume action Dec. 28 against nationally-ranked and undefeated USciences on Dec. 28.