WALTHAM, Mass. – After suffering its first Northeast-10 Conference loss of the season on Wednesday, the Bentley University women's basketball team will face another difficult test on Saturday when it launches a three-game homestand against American International. Tip-off at the Dana Center is at 1:30 pm with a free webcast at www.bentleyfalcons.tv.

It won't be an easy task as AIC owns records of 12-5 overall, including 6-2 away from Springfield, and 7-2 Northeast-10. The Yellow Jackets trail number 25 Adelphi by two games in the conference's Southwest Division.

Bentley, number 15 in the latest WBCA Division II coaches' poll, will be looking to rebound from its first conference loss of the season (62-60 at Adelphi) which left the Falcons 12-4 overall and 8-1 NE10. That snapped a 13-game winning streak for coach Barbara Stevens' club against NE10 opponents.

Against the twice-beaten Panthers, neither team shot well but both found success on the offensive boards with Bentley collecting 20 and Adelphi 21. O-boards were even at 20 before the home team tracked down the final one, off a free throw miss with 10.9 seconds left. That one enabled the Panthers to extend a one-point lead to three with 6.9 seconds left.

Prior to that point, the game had been tied 12 times and had five lead changes.

Bentley junior guard Macchi Smith (Los Angeles, Calif./Windward School) had a standout game for the Falcons, finishing with a career-best 24 points, along with five assists and four steals, while playing all 40 minutes. Included was a basket with 24.6 seconds left in the fourth that forged a 59-all tie.

That effort elevated Smith's season average to 10.8 points, third on the team behind senior All-America forward Jen Gemma (Milton/Fontbonne Academy) and junior guard Lauren Green (Damascus, Md./Damascus HS).

Gemma, who had a season-best 18 rebounds against Adelphi, leads the Falcons with averages of 17.4 points and 7.0 rebounds. The number two scorer in program history (1,836) is 11 rebounds away from passing Nina Houghton '89 for third place all-time in that category.

Green follows with a 13.0 scoring average, including 14.3 in home games where she's knocked down 55 percent of her three-pointers. Overall, she's third in the NE10 with a .454 accuracy mark from deep.

AIC, coming off a 76-59 win over Franklin Pierce, features the NE10's top scorer and rebounder in six-foot-one sophomore Dana Watts with averages of 22.6 points and 11.4 rebounds. She's number one nationally in Division II in double-doubles (12) and free throws made (124), second in free throw attempts (141), third in scoring and ninth in rebounds per game.

Senior guard Imani Stepney and sophomore guard Jayda Gilmore are the Yellow Jackets' other double-figure scorers, with averages of 14.1 and 11.5, respectively. They are both among the ten players in the conference with at least 25 steals, a group that also includes Watts. She has 27 thefts in addition to having blocked 29 shots.

Bentley will also be at home Wednesday and Saturday next week, taking on Pace and Le Moyne.