MANCHESTER, N.H. – A 29-point second quarter put Southern New Hampshire firmly in control and the Penmen went on to hand Bentley University its first Northeast-10 Conference loss of the season, 65-53, in women's college basketball Tuesday night at Stan Spirou Field House.

Bentley, which had been ranked 17^th in this week's D2SIDA media poll, dropped to 5-3 overall and 4-1 NE10. Southern New Hampshire improved to 7-1 overall and 3-1 conference.

The top scorer for the Falcons was junior guard Ella Thompson (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS) with 17 points, as well as four steals.

After a low-scoring first quarter, SNHU heated up in the second, outscoring the Falcons 29-14 to go into the halftime break riding a 16-point advantage, 39-23.

Bentley, in front by four with 6:39 left in the quarter, saw the Penmen embark on a 22-2 run over the next 4:45. That stretch, fueled by nine points from junior guard Adriana Timberlake (Braintree, Mass.), had the home team make eight of nine shots from the floor and the Falcons manage only two free throws.

The Falcons continued to struggle in the third, scoring only nine while falling behind by 21, 53-32.

The final 12-point spread, coming off a 6-0 closing run, was as close as the game came in the final 22 minutes.

Timberlake led SNHU with 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting. Six-foot-one grad student Meg Knollmeyer (Hampton, N.H.) followed with 15 and six-two sophomore Jessica Knight added 14, along with 11 rebounds, off the bench

In addition to Thompson, both grad forward Autumn Ceppi (Bedford, Mass./Dana Hall) and senior guard Kari Brekke (Appleton, Wis./Appleton North HS) scored in doubles for Bentley, each with ten points.

Southern New Hampshire outshot the Falcons 47-31 percent and had the rebounding edge, 40-34. Both teams drained only three from deep, but Bentley misfired on 18 of 21 long balls.

The next game for the Falcons is Dec. 18 at Holy Family University.