WALTHAM, Mass. – Junior forward Maggie Whitmore (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS) scored 15 of her 23 points in the second half to lead fourth-seeded Bentley University to a 70-54 win over 12^th-seeded Franklin Pierce University in the quarterfinals of the Northeast-10 Conference  Women's Basketball Championships Sunday afternoon on Barbara Stevens Court.

The victory lifted the 19-9 Falcons into the conference semifinals for the 37^th time in 40 years. By virtue of top-seeded Le Moyne College falling to Pace University, Bentley will host eighth-seeded Pace Thursday night with a berth in the NE10 championship game on the line.

As was the case in Friday's first-round game against St. Michael's, Bentley got off to a slow start and was looking at a ten-point deficit with five-and-a-half minutes left in the second quarter, 25-15.

The Falcons closed the half with a 13-4 burst, briefly took the lead and went into intermission down one at 29-28. Whitmore scored five on a straightaway three and a fastbreak lay-up, and Bentley also received three-pointers from senior guard Ella Thompson (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS) and graduate guard Kari Brekke (Appleton, Wis./Appleton North HS).

After the Ravens scored the opening bucket of the third, Bentley put together a Whitmore-fueled 13-2 run to go up 41-33 with four minutes left. She scored seven of the 13 points and also assisted on a lay-up from freshman post Julie Elie (Rockland/Rockland HS),

Bentley, up ten entering the fourth, opened it up by scoring the first seven points of the final stanza. There was a lay-up from freshman post Ciara Norman (Roebling, N.J./Life Center Academy), a three-point play from Thompson and a driving lay-up by Whitmore.

Later in the fourth, lay-ups from Whitmore, sophomore guard Amanda Kabantu (Portland, Maine/Portland HS) and Elie produced the game's biggest advantage, 66-47 with 3:14 to play.

Whitmore, in addition to scoring 23 on 9-of-17 shooting, also had eight rebounds, four assists and two steals. Thompson followed with 13 in 32 scoreless minutes and the freshman post duo of Elie and Norman combined for 22 points with each five-of-seven from the floor. Elie had 12 points and was a plus-27, and Norman scored ten. 

Bentley also received eight assists from freshman guard Cassidy Yeomans (Marion/Tabor Academy).

Six-four junior Collette Mulderig (Scranton, Pa.) and junior guard Anna Badosa Soler (Girona, Spain) accounted for 39 of the Ravens' 54 points. Mulderig finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds and Badosa Soler scored 18.

Superior shooting and half the turnovers were keys to the Bentley win. The Falcons, who scored 42 points in the paint, outshot the Ravens 47-40 percent and connected at a 53 percent clip in the second half. Meanwhile, coach C White's team committed only nine turnovers and outscored the Ravens 26-4 on points off.

Franklin Pierce finished its season at 9-20.