Northeast-10 Champion Bentley Falcons Received Record 36th NCAA Tournament Invite, Will Face Jefferson Friday
WALTHAM, Mass. – For the 36th time in the program's storied history, the Bentley University women's basketball team will be competing in the NCAA Division II Division II Championships.
After capturing the 2022 Northeast-10 Conference championship with a come-from-behind win over Stonehill College earlier Sunday afternoon, coach C White's Falcons were seeded fifth and will face fourth seeded Jefferson University on Friday.
The 2022 NCAA Division II East Regional will be held at Southern New Hampshire University after the Penmen received the number one seed and their first NCAA berth since 1990.
Automatic berths went to Bentley (Northeast-10), USciences (Central Atlantic) and Daemen College (East Coast). Jefferson and Southern New Hampshire were at-large selections as were Chestnut Hill, Le Moyne and Pace. Combined, the eight teams were 168-50 this season.
The other quarterfinal games on Friday have Southern New Hampshire taking on eighth-seeded Daemen, second-seeded Chestnut Hill against number seven Pace and third-seeded USciences paired against number six Le Moyne.
For Bentley, this mirrors 2018 when the Falcons defeated Stonehill in the Northeast-10 championship and were paired against Jefferson in the first round. That season, the Falcons edged the Rams 71-66 before falling to USciences in the regional semis.
Bentley's most recent NCAA appearance came in 2019 when the Falcons came up short against Saint Anselm down in Philadelphia.
The regional semifinals will be Saturday evening and the regional championship game will follow on Monday, Mar. 14.
The Elite Eight will be held in Birmingham, Alabama March 22-24.
NCAA DIVISION II EAST REGIONAL
at Southern New Hampshire University, Manchester, N.H.
Quarterfinals – Friday, March 11
#1 Southern New Hampshire (21-6) vs. 8 Daemen (20-4)
#2 Chestnut Hill (24-6) vs. #7 Pace (21-7)
#3 USciences (23-4) vs. #6 Le Moyne (17-7)
#4 Jefferson (23-8) vs. #5 Bentley (19-8)
Semifinals – Saturday, March. 12
SNHU-Daemen winner vs. Bentley-Jefferson winner
Chestnut Hill-Pace winner vs. USciences-Le Moyne winner
Championship – Monday, March 14