WALTHAM, Mass. – The 16-game home winning streak of the Bentley University women's basketball team will be put to the test on Saturday when the Falcons take on the Adelphi University Panthers in a matchup of Northeast-10 Conference division leaders on Barbara Stevens Court. Tipoff for the only meeting of the season for these two teams is slated for 1:30 pm with the webcast available on the NE10 NOW digital network.

Bentley, following a 69-55 loss at Le Moyne College earlier this week, returned home with records of 15-5 overall and 10-2 NE10. Coach Stevens' team is tied with Saint Anselm for the top position in the NE10 Northeast Division and was ranked 19th in this week's D2SIDA media poll.

Adelphi, which held rankings of nine and 13 in this week's national Division II polls, comes into the Dana Center looking to reach the 20-win mark. The Panthers are 19-2 with a three-game winning streak, 10-2 conference and atop the Southwest Division.

 Bentley has not seen a tie or a lead change in its last four games with three straight wire-to-wire wins followed by Tuesday's game against Le Moyne that saw the Dolphins score the first 15 points and the Falcons never able to catch up.

Bentley, one of two NE10 teams in the top five in both scoring and defense, has been a different team home and away this season. On the court named after its legendary coach, the Falcons score 79 points a game while shooting 48 percent overall and 40 percent from three. That scoring average drops to 62.4 away from campus.

Senior center Monica Viapiano (Holden/Holy Name HS) and sophomore Kari Brekke (Appleton, Wisc./Appleton North HS) top the Bentley scoring lists, and graduate forward Megan Lewis (Sevenoaks, England) has produced in double figures over the last ten games.

Viapiano, on the strength of the NE10's third best field goal percentage (.560) and 54 offensive rebounds, leads the way with averages of 15.5 points and 6.9 rebounds. Brekke has dropped in 34 three-pointers while scoring 11.8 points a game, and Lewis (9.0 PPG) has connected at a 41 percent success rate from outside the three-point stripe. Over the last 11 games, the six-footer has dropped 19 of 38 three-point attempts through the basket.

Bentley's usual starting five also includes freshman guard Ella Thompson (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS) and junior guard Katie Meriggioli (Waunakee, Wisc./Edgewood HS). Thompson has made 12 of her last 25 three-pointers and is averaging 8.6 points. Meriggioli has the second best rebound average (5.6) in addition to scoring 8.2 points a game.

Adelphi has had only one bad week all season, the third week of January when the Panthers lost to Stonehill and Saint Anselm, Bentley's top two challengers in the Northeast Division race. The Panthers, who receive 38 percent of their points via the three-pointer, are the conference's top scoring team at 78.3 points per game.

The fast-paced Panther offense takes over 70 shots a game, nearly ten more than any other team in the country attempts. Those additional shots are largely the result of 22.5 forced turnovers, 12.1 steals and 16 offensive rebounds a game, all NE10-leading figures.

Adelphi has six players producing at least 9.5 points a game with the list headed by senior forward Leonie Edringer at 14.0. She's also one of only two conference players averaging a double-double.

Junior guard Katie Murphy follows at 12.3 points a game. Ten NE10 players have at least 40 three-pointers and four of those wear an Adelphi uniform, including junior Julia Strachan, who has 60.

Bentley, 12-7 all-time against Adelphi, has won the last two meetings, including 67-53 last January on Long Island. The Falcons took control with a 19-6 second quarter and received 21 points and nine rebounds from Viapiano.

Another tough task awaits Bentley on Wednesday when the Falcons resume Northeast Division play at Stonehill College.