WALTHAM, Mass. – Following a hard-fought 57-52 semifinal win over Pace University Thursday night on Barbara Stevens Court, the Bentley University women's basketball team has advanced to the Northeast-10 Conference championship game for the 31^st time and will be seeking its record 22^nd conference title on Sunday afternoon.

The championship game will be played at third-seeded Southern New Hampshire, which held off number two Assumption, 67-60.

Freshman forward Julia Elie (Rockland/Rockland HS) powered the fourth-seeded Falcons to their 20^th win, a milestone they achieved for the first time since 2019 and the 34^th time in program history, with a career-high 16 points off the bench. Sophomore guard Amanda Kabantu (Portland, Maine/Portland HS) also played a key role with 13 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two blocks.

After falling behind late in the third, Bentley scored the final four points of the quarter to go in front to stay, 42-40. Freshman post Ciara Norman (Roebling, N.J./Life Center Academy) made two free throws with 56.6 seconds on the clock and Elie, who was seven-of-eight from the field, scored on a spinning lay-up with :05 left in the third.

Pace scored the opening basket of the fourth, but Bentley (20-9) responded by scoring seven unanswered, a run fueled by Kabantu. She sank a three-ball from the left corner following a feed from senior guard Ella Thompson (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove GS), hit a foul line jumper and had the assist on a basket by junior forward Maggie Whitmore (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS).

Following four Setter points that cut the eight-point lead in half, Whitmore beat the shot clock with a driving lay-up with five minutes to play, making it 51-45.

Elie's final lay-up of the night put Bentley up 54-49 with 3:18 to play, but a Pace turnaround jumper by freshman forward Ciara Collins (Bristol, Conn.) and one of two free throws by sophomore post Tower Lorde (Saint Michael, Barbados) brought the Setters to within two, 54-52.

Kabantu beat the clock with a short baseline jumper with 1:29 remaining. Elie rebounded a Pace miss and the Falcons retained possession for most of the final minute after two errant Bentley shots went out of bounds off the Setters.

Pace missed a jumper with eight seconds left, Whitmore collected the rebound and Thompson sank one of two free throws with 5.5 seconds to secure the win.

Bentley led 28-20 at the half after closing the second quarter with a 10-3 run. Kabantu had three baskets during that surge and Norman scored the other four.

Elie, who has averaged 13.3 points during Bentley's three-game march to the championship game, also had four points. Kabantu, six-of-ten from the field, had her highest scoring game of the season, and Norman joined them in double figures with 10 points and eight rebounds.

Bentley also received nine points from Whitmore.

Lorde led three double-figure scorers with Pace (14-16) as she recorded 15 points and seven rebounds.

Pace shot slightly better, 40-39 percent, but Bentley made four more free throws and had four more shot attempts, due largely to a 12-6 advantage in offensive rebounds.

Bentley, which has won eight of its last nine, swept Southern New Hampshire during the regular season with a pair of 12-point wins, 63-51 November 22 and 60-46 February 1.