GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – Junior guard Ella Thompson (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS) dropped in four three-pointers and finished with a game-high 17 points as Bentley University improved to 11-4 overall with a 56-47 win over Adelphi University in Northeast-10 Conference women's  basketball Tuesday night at the Center for Recreation and Sport.

It was the fourth straight game in which coach C White's Falcons led from start to finish. The Falcons, who are tied for 20^th  in this week's D2SIDA media poll, remained atop the NE10 Northeast Division standings with their ninth win in 11 conference games. On the other hand, Adelphi (10-9, 8-6 NE10) saw its six-game winning streak come to an end.

Bentley came out fast with two buckets from graduate forward Autumn Ceppi (Bedford, Mass./ Dana Hall HS), a three-ball from Thompson and a lay-up from sophomore guard Maggie Whitmore (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS) in the first three minutes.

After the Panthers closed to within three, 17-14, by the end of the stanza, Bentley put together another run to start the second, this time five straight points to go up eight. Freshman guard Amanda Kabantu (Portland, Maine/Portland HS) scored inside and Thompson buried a deep two-pointer and also made one of two at the charity stripe.

With Adelphi within two, senior guard Kari Brekka (Appleton, Wis./Appleton North HS) drained a three with 25 seconds left in the quarter, giving the visiting Falcons a 25-20 halftime lead at the break.

Following a 9-2 Panther won that reduced the Bentley advantage to one, 30-29, Thompson connected from beyond the arc and Ceppi scored on a pullback, returning the differential to six.

Bentley finished the game on a 15-8 run with the final 11-point margin the biggest of the night.

Thompson, who was four of nine from deep, complemented her 17 points with three rebounds, two steals and a block. Ceppi just missed a double-double, finishing with 12 points, nine rebounds, four steals and three assists.

Bentley also received eight points apiece from Brekke and Kabantu, and Whitmore's line included six points, seven rebounds, four steals and four assists.   

Graduate guard Emily Miccille (Wrentham, Mass.) led Adelphi with 13 points, including 8-of-8 from the free throw stripe.

Bentley shot better than the home team, .415-.395, and nearly doubled the Panthers on the boards, 36-19. The Falcons made seven of the game's ten three-pointers, came up with 15 steals and had the game's only 10 second chance points.

Turnovers were  an issue for both teams but Bentley was the one to take advantage. The Falcons scored 26 points off 23 Panther turns and Adelphi scored only 14 off 22 Falcon turns.

Next up for Bentley is a Thursday home game against Stonehill. Originally scheduled for Wednesday, it was moved to accommodate the rescheduling of the Adelphi game.