Bentley Seeks Record 21st Northeast-10 Championship Sunday vs. Stonehill
WALTHAM, Mass. – A Northeast-10 Conference finalists for the 30th time, the Bentley University women's basketball team will be looking to capture the NE10 championship for the record 21st time when it hosts Stonehill College Sunday afternoon at the Dana Center. Tip-off is set for 12 noon and the championship game will be streamed live on NE10 NOW.
The winner will automatically qualify for the NCAA Division II East Regional while the other team will be left on the proverbial bubble with their NCAA hopes in the hands of the selection committee. In the latest NCAA regional rankings, Bentley was seventh and Stonehill was eighth. Eight teams qualify, but the number eight seed will most likely go to the East Coast Conference champion.
Bentley, the number two seed out of the NE10's Northeast Division, enters Sunday's championship game at 18-8 overall. Coach C White's Falcons advanced to the finals with wins over New Haven, Franklin Pierce and Southwest Division top-seed Le Moyne, a trio of teams they limited to an average of 49 points.
Stonehill, 16-8 and the third seed out of the Northeast, owns postseason wins over Saint Rose, Southwest number two Pace and Southern Connecticut. The Skyhawks also played solid defense in the three games, giving up an average of 54 points.
The two programs are certainly no strangers to each other, having met 114 times previously with 28 of those encounters coming during the postseason. They've faced off in the conference championship tournament 17 times, with Bentley winning 12 of those, and in the NCAA tournament 11 times, with the Falcons prevailing in eight of those.
This will be the eighth time the two longtime foes will square off with the Northeast-10 championship on the line. Bentley defeated Stonehill in the title game in 1985, 1992, 1993, 1998 and 2018 while the Skyhawks earned the championship in 1987 and 1997.
In that 2018 game which was played at Bryant University, Bentley won in overtime, 73-72, after trailing by 14 in the third quarter. The Falcons scored the last seven points of regulation to force the extra session and overcame a 72-68 deficit with 43.2 seconds left in OT to earn their 20th championship.
Bentley, 74-40 all-time against the Skyhawks, and Stonehill split the regular season series this year with each winning on the other's homecourt. The Falcons took the first, 72-61, two days before Thanksgiving and the Skyhawks prevailed in OT, 76-73, just about a month ago. In that one, Bentley climbed out of a 24-point first-half deficit and had leads of three points in the final minute and four points in OT.
Bentley, which placed three players on the All-Northeast-10 teams and had two others receive NE10 All-Rookie honors, defeated Le Moyne for the first time in six games to reach the finals. Graduate student Autumn Ceppi (Bedford/Dana Hall School) was a force, with 16 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocks, including one on a potential game-tying shot midway through the fourth. Guards Kari Brekke (Appleton, Wis./Appleton North HS) and Ella Thompson (Greenwood, Ind./ Center Grove HS) each knocked down a trio of three-balls, and the Falcon D held the Dolphins to 26.8 percent shooting.
Ceppi, an all-conference first-teamer, leads Bentley with averages of 14.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists. She's had four double-doubles in the last five games.
Thompson and Brekke are Bentley's other double-figure scorers, averaging 12.3 and 11.4 points, respectively. Brekke is second in Division II nationally in three-point percentage (.461) and Thompson is tied for second in the conference in three-pointers with 60.
The other usual starters for White's team are sophomore Maggie Whitmore (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS) and freshman Amanda Kabantu (Portland, Maine/Portland HS). The first players off the bench are generally senior Kolleen Bouchard (Houlton, Maine/Houlton HS), freshman Kylie Ducharme (Wilmington/Wilmington HS) and sophomore Jessica Gonzalez (Meriden, Conn./St. Paul Catholic HS).
Bentley leads the Northeast-10 in field goal percentage and ranks second in scoring, three-pointers and fewest fouls. The Falcons are also second in scoring defense despite being only 13th in opponents field goal percentage.
Stonehill, in its semifinal win, outscored Southern Connecticut 21-17 in the fourth for a 59-56 win. Senior All-Conference forward Kayla Raymond led the way with 18 points and nine rebounds.
The Skyhawks, who are 6-6 all-time in conference championship games, have a trio of seniors as their top scorers. Forward Kayla Raymond produces 19.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks a game, and enters Sunday's contest with 1,174 career points in three seasons.
Emily Bramanti follows with a 13.8 average and has 102 assists. The team's third double-figure scorer, at 10.0 a game, is guard Isabella Santoro.
Stonehill ranks fourth in the NE10 in scoring and eighth in scoring defense. The Skyhawks normally struggle from three with their percentage of .276 12th in the conference. That wasn't the case in the Feb. 3 game against Bentley as they knocked down a season-high 13 of 29.
The NCAA Division II selection show will air Sunday night at 10 pm on NCAA.com.