WALTHAM, Mass. – Graduate guard Ella Thompson (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS), playing in her final regular season game as a collegian, matched her career-high with 25 points as Bentley University secured a share of the Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball regular season championship with a 72-57 win over Southern Connecticut State Tuesday night at the Dana Center.

With the win, coupled with Saint Rose's stunning overtime win at Southern New Hampshire, Bentley earned the top seed in the upcoming Northeast-10 Conference championships and will have the homecourt advantage throughout. Saint Rose needed a buzzer-beating three from midcourt to force OT before prevailing in the extra session.

Bentley, number 22 in this week's WBCA Division II coaches poll, closed out the regular season at 23-5 overall and 18-4 in the conference. Southern Connecticut, which will be the sixth seed, slipped to 16-12 overall and 13-9 in the NE10.

The first half, which ended knotted at 31-all, was a back-and-forth affair with nine lead changes, four ties and the biggest differential being the Falcons' 5-0 start. Thompson started both quarters with a three for the Falcons and finished the half with nine points. Meanwhile, sophomore forward Rheyna Steinhauser (Oakville, Ont.) had 12 points and six rebounds off the Owl bench.

Bentley had the edge in the paint, 14-8, and in second chance points, 8-4, but Southern knocked down five of nine three-pointers against a Falcon D ranked eighth nationally in defending the three.

After the Owls scored the first four points of the third, Bentley took control by scoring nine straight, a run launched by another Thompson triple. Senior forward Maggie Whitmore (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS) followed with a lay-up and junior forward Kylie DuCharme (Wilmington/Wilmington HS) made it a 40-35 Falcon advantage with a pair of inside baskets.

It grew to be an 18-5 run, resulting in a 49-40 Falcon lead with 2:21 left in the third. All 18 were netted by Bentley's top three scorers on the season with DuCharme providing eight, Thompson five and Whitmore five.

The Falcons, up 51-41 after three, and the Owls took turns scoring for most of the fourth before Bentley closed out the contest with five unanswered, a three-pointer by Thompson and two free throws by sophomore guard Cassidy Yeomans (Marion/Tabor Academy).

Thompson's career game saw her make five of ten from deep, sink all six of her free throws and also amass four rebounds, three blocks and two assists.

DuCharme put up her ninth double-double of the season as she finished with 13 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Whitmore added 11 points and nine rebounds, and junior forward Ciara Norman (Roebling, N.J./Life Center Academy) was a factor inside, finishing with seven points and five rebounds.

Southern was led by senior forward Katie Williamson (Dublin, Ireland), with 16 points on 8-of-13 shooting.

Both teams shot 42 percent, but the Falcons had the advantage in second-chance points (22-6), rebounds (37-29), three-points (8-5), free throws (14-6) and blocked shots (7-0).

Southern, after making five of nine from deep in the first half, was limited to four attempts after the break, all resulting in misses.

Bentley will have a first-round bye when the conference playoffs get underway Friday and will host the winner of the Saint Anselm-American International game in Sunday's quarterfinals (1:30 pm).