On March 8, 2003, tournament MVP Sara Wright, a six-foot senior, had 12 points and seven rebounds, and the Falcon defense yielded only four points over the final 8:45, as Bentley captured its 13th Northeast-10 Conference Women's Basketball Championship with a 65-49 victory over second-seeded UMass-Lowell at the Dana Center.

It was the fifth title for 29-2 Bentley in the last six seasons and extended the Falcons' winning streak to 26 games.  Coach Barbara Stevens' club, number three nationally in Division II, earned an automatic berth into NCAA Division II Northeast Regionals and would be named host of the regionals a night later.

The Falcons became only the fourth team in NE-10 history to run the tables through the conference regular season schedule and also capture the Northeast-10 playoffs, joining the Bentley teams of 1992, 1999 and 2001.

Bentley, which led by just two after a three-point play by Lowell senior center Dahima James (Bronx, N.Y.) with 8:50 to play, seized control by scoring the next 11 points, with the River Hawks scoreless for just about four minutes. A layup by sophomore Shevon Gibbons launched the spurt, and the next six Bentley points came at the line, the last two by junior guard Keri Flynn (Rockland/Rockland HS) to give the Falcons their first double-figure lead of the night, 55-45 with 4:46 left.

Following a steal by sophomore guard Chanté Bonds, Flynn, the NE-10 co-Player of the Year, drained her fourth three-pointer of the night, making it a 13-point game, 58-45 with 4:17 remaining.  Flynn, the game's high scorer with 20 points, struggled through a tough shooting night (7 for 22), but netted seven points during the game-ending 18-4 run.

UMass-Lowell senior guard Meghan Hamilton, who matched her season-high with 18 points, finally ended the River Hawks' scoring drought when she hit a basket with 2:41 left, cutting the Falcon lead to 11, 58-47.

Any chances of a River Hawk comeback were dashed as Bentley answered with baskets by Bonds and Flynn, pushing the advantage to 15, 62-47, with less than a minute remaining on the clock.

After several early lead changes, Bentley took the lead for good, 13-12, on a basket by Wright with 13:25 remaining in the first half.  That launched a 7-0 run which included a three-ball from Flynn.  The lead would peak at nine, 23-14, before Lowell ran off eight in a row to draw within one, and was four at the break, 29-25.  The Falcons, after hitting seven of their first 12 shots in the half, uncharacteristically missed 16 of their final 21.

Carrying the load in the first half was Wright, who despite foul trouble, had 10 points at the break on four-of-five shooting.

Bentley maintained a slim lead (never more than six) over the first 11:50 of the second half before embarking on the decisive game-ending run.  Over the final 8:45, the River Hawks made only two of 13 and turned the ball over five times.

Flynn and Wright (five of eight from the field) were joined in double figures by Gibbons, who came off the bench to contribute 10 points, six rebounds and two steals.  Bonds followed with eight points, sophomore guard Morgan DiPietro chipped in with seven points off the bench, and senior guard Liz Leonard added five points and five rebounds.  Junior forward Becky Davison had a quiet night offensively (three points), but paced the Falcons with nine rebounds.

Bentley, which had its poorest shooting game since Jan. 23 as it hit only 40 percent, held UMass-Lowell to .367 overall and just 32 percent in the second half, and forced 24 turnovers, 14 coming in the first half.  The Falcons also enjoyed a big edge at the line, attempting 15 more than Lowell (24-9) and making nine more (16-7).