WALTHAM, Mass. – After a successful opening weekend in New Jersey,  the Bentley University women's basketball team will be back in the Dana Center Wednesday (5:30 pm) to face Merrimack College in its Northeast-10 Conference opener and first home game since the NCAA regionals last March.

The Falcons, who were a consensus preseason number one in Division II after reaching the national semifinals a year ago, have won 11 straight at home and nine in a row against East Region competition. Bentley won its opening two games by an average of 29 points in the Georgian Court Invitational, dispatching of Concordia, N.Y. (76-49) and Georgian Court (73-42).

Merrimack competed in the same tournament and returned home with a 1-1 record. The Warriors scored 55 points in both games, a 14-point loss to Georgian Court and a 19-point victory over Concordia.

Bentley, in the two games, held the opposition to a .269 shooting percent and dominated the boards by an average of 17. Coach Barbara Stevens' team had a nearly 3-1 ratio in free throw attempts, taking 27 a game while allowing only 9.5.

Senior All-America forward Jen Gemma (Milton/Fontbonne Academy) and junior guard Lauren Green (Damascus, Md./Damascus HS) both averaged 17.5 points for Bentley with Green an impressive 8 of 15 from three-point land.

Gemma moved from 12th to ninth on Bentley's all-time scoring list with her total currently at 1,593. She'll likely move up one more notch on Wednesday, needing only five to surpass former Falcon All-America Courtney Finn (2010-14). The reigning NE-10 Player of the Year also needs just two rebounds to crack the top five on the program's career rebound list.

Junior guard Cassie Smith (Edison, N.J./Metuchen HS) played well off the bench, averaging 9.5 points and 5.5 rebounds with a .545 field goal percentage. Classmate Macchi Smith (Los Angeles, Calif./ Windward School), who started for the first time since December 2014, had similar numbers (9.5 ppg, .545 fg) and also only one turnover in 48 minutes.

Merrimack featured sophomore guard Hannah Neild during the weekend. She matched Green's three-point shooting numbers and averaged 16 points, eight rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals. Senior guard My'Asia Alston followed with nine points a game on 47 percent shooting.

Last year's 29-6 season for the Falcons included two wins over Merrimack, both by eight points, 68-60 and 58-50. Gemma was Bentley's top scorer in both, averaging 21 points and ten boards.

This week's schedule also has the Falcons making a visit to Franklin Pierce University Saturday with a 4 pm tipoff.