WALTHAM, Mass. – Senior All-America Jen Gemma (Milton/Fontbonne Academy) and senior forward Julia Davis (Ipswich/Ipswich HS) will serve as captains of the 2016-17 Bentley University women's basketball team, Hall of Fame head coach Barbara Stevens announced.

Gemma was also a co-captain last year when Bentley finished 29-6, captured its 14th NCAA regional championship, its 19th Northeast-10 Conference tournament crown and reached the national semifinals.

"Jen is a leader on and off the floor, a player who raises the bar every day with her competitiveness and work ethic," said Stevens. "She has a daily commitment to be the best she can be and sets the tone with her all-business mentality. Jen worked hard all summer to be ready for her senior season."

Gemma, the reigning Northeast-10 and D2CCA Division II East Region Player of the Year, begins her final year 12th on Bentley's all-time leading scoring list. The six-footer needs 40 to crack the top eight and 42 to reach 1,600.

Last winter, Gemma provided a Northeast-10 leading 20 points a game, along with 9.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks. She had 16 double-doubles and 20 games with at least 20 points.

Davis, who joined the team as a sophomore following the Falcons' national championship season of 2014, saw action in 11 games off the bench last year and averaged 10.8 rebounds per 40 minutes. Her most productive game was three points and four rebounds in an 80-58 win over Indianapolis.

"A three-year walk-on, Julia has earned the respect of her teammates and coaches alike with her commitment and dedication to the Bentley women's basketball program," praised Stevens. "She's as selfless a player as we've ever had in our program,  and a terrific rebounder and competitor.

"Both of our captains are incredible role models when it comes to work ethic, competing to the final whistle every practice, every drill," said Bentley's 957-game winning coach.

Bentley, ranked number one in Division II preseason by both the Women's Basketball Coaches Association and Women's Division II Bulletin, opens its season next weekend with games against Concordia (N.Y.) (Saturday) and Georgian Court (Sunday) as part of the Georgian Court Invitational in Lakewood, N.J.