WALTHAM, Mass. – A week and a day after tasting defeat for the first time this season, the Bentley University women's basketball team will be back in the Dana Center for a Saturday non-conference matinee against LIU Post. Tip-off is at 1 pm with a free webcast available on NE10 NOW.

Bentley brings a 12-1 record and a number 11 ranking into its first game of 2019 and final non-conference contest of the season The Falcons are in the midst of a five-game home stand that began with wins over Merrimack and Molloy, continued with a loss to USciences and will conclude Wednesday against Le Moyne College.

LIU Post, despite being in its final year of competition before the university merges its athletic program with Division I LIU Brooklyn, will come into the Dana Center with an impressive 11-2 record. The two losses have been at the hands of Stonehill, 66-47 back in November, and Saint Rose, 63-59 on Wednesday.

Both teams were done in by difficulties from the charity stripe in their most recent game. The Falcons' 76-71 loss to then-unbeaten USciences Dec. 30 included 14 missed free throws, including ten of 20 in the second half. At Saint Rose, LIU Post misfired on 10 of 18 in a four-point loss.

Before shooting .511 against USciences, Bentley had been undefeated when finishing with a field goal percentage of .500 or better since the 2011 Elite Eight. The Falcons made 19 of 31 from inside the arc for the game, but despite leading Division II in three-point accuracy, were off target on all ten of their shots from downtown in the second half.

Senior center Victoria Lux (Arundel, Maine/Thornton Academy), the newest member of Bentley's 1,000 point and 800 rebound clubs, leads Bentley in both those categories, averaging 13.2 points and seven boards.

Lux is just in front of sophomore guard Katie Meriggioli (Waunakee, Wis./Edgewood HS) on Bentley's scoring list, who scores 13.1 a game and connects at a .468 clip from three-point range.

Seven Falcons own scoring norms between six and 10.5 points per game, including junior forward Monica Viapiano (Holden/Wachusett Reg. HS) and senior guard Amy McConnell (South Windsor, Conn./South Windsor HS). Viapiano, who scores 9.4 a game off the bench, is fourth in the NE10 in field goal percentage (.449) and McConnell (9.6 ppg) is second in three-point accuracy (18/36, .500).

Coach Barbara Stevens' team enters its first game of 2019 ranking second in Division II in assists, seventh in assist-turnover ratio and 13th in scoring margin, as well as first in three-point percentage.

LIU Post features 5-foot-10 grad student Sasha Patterson, who leads the Pioneers in scoring (15.7), rebounds (9.9) and field goal percentage (.615). She's had seven double-doubles with her season-bests including 32 points against Daemen and 18 rebounds against Bloomfield.

Senior guard Shannon Doyle follows at 11.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.8 steals, and junior guard Taylah Hudson (9.0 ppg) is the team's most accurate three-point threat (14-33, .424).

Both teams generally take more free throws than their opponents. Bentley has attempted 135 more and made 85 more while LIU Post's numbers are similar, 124 and 77. Their scoring defense numbers are about the same (59.7 for the Falcons, 58.7 for the Pioneers) but Bentley scores considerably more, 80.5 as compared to 69.6.

Bentley and LIU Post have met 11 times previously with the Falcons leading the series 9-2. That includes a 77-51 Bentley win down on Long Island a year ago.