MANCHESTER, N.H. – After scoring only 31 points in the first three quarters, the Bentley University Falcons outscored Southern New Hampshire 28-12 over the final nine minutes to earn a 59-52 victory in Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball Wednesday evening at the SNHU Field House.

The outcome created a four-way tie for first in the NE10 with Bentley, the 15^th-ranked team in this week's WBCA Division II coaches poll drawing even with SNHU, Pace and SNHU, all at 4-1. The Falcons improved to 7-1 and the Penmen slipped to 4-2 after a 4-0 start.

Bentley's offense came alive after Southern N.H. scored the first four points of the fourth to go up nine, 40-31.

An 18-2 run over a four-minute span put Bentley in front to stay, 49-42, with five minutes remaining. Six different Falcons scored, including senior guard Brooke Obar (No. Yarmouth, Maine/Greely HS) with back-to-back threes. She hit one from the left wing to erase the final Penmen lead of the game and another 38 seconds later from the other side of the court.

Lay-ups by graduate guard Ella Thompson (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS), junior forward Kylie DuCharme (Wilmington, Mass./Wilmington HS) and senior forward Maggie Whitmore (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS) down the stretch helped Bentley hold off the home team.

Bentley took a 25-23 lead into the halftime locker room after outscoring the Penmen by one in each of the first two quarters, 14-13 in the first and 11-10 in the second. There were ten lead changes, and the biggest differential of the half was five, a 23-18 Falcon lead with 3:20 to play.

Both teams had great difficulty putting the ball through the basket with the visitors 9 of 37 and the Penmen 9 of 34.

DuCharme was the lone exception as she scored 14 of the Falcons' points, on five-of-nine from the field and four-of-four from the line. The rest of her team scored only 11 on a combined 4-of-28 shooting.

Bentley managed only one field goal in the third but stayed within reach by limiting SNHU to only six baskets in 19 shots.

DuCharme finished with 19 points, matching her career-high, and nine rebounds. Obar and sophomore post Ciara Norman (Roebling, N.J./Life Center Academy) each scored nine, and Whitmore and Thompson each netted seven.

For Southern N.H., sophomore forward Meghan Gordon (Attleboro, Mass.) put up a 19-point, 19-rebound double-double. However, the team's top two scorers, graduate guard Adriana Timberlake (Braintree, Mass.) and six-two senior Jess Knight (Hanover, N.H.), were limited to 15 combined points on 6-of-29 shooting.

Bentley made 10 of 13 from the floor in the fourth, boosting the field goal percentage to .325. SNHU had the rebound advantage, 51-48, but connected at just a .288 clip. Both teams took excellent care of the ball with just six turnovers each.

Bentley's next game is Saturday, Dec. 16 at home against Molloy University.