WALTHAM, Mass. – Following back-to-back regular season losses for the first time since November 2017, the Bentley University women's basketball team will look to get back on track Wednesday when the Falcons travel to Easton to take on Stonehill College. The 5:30 pm game from Merkert Gymnasium will be webcast over the NE10 NOW digital network.

It'll be the first of seven straight contests against Northeast-10 Northeast Division opponents for both teams, who share second place in the division. Bentley's recent difficulties have given Saint Anselm (11-2 NE10) sole possession of the divisional lead.

Coach Barbara Stevens' Falcons will make the trip to Stonehill with records of 15-6 overall and 10-3 NE10 after posting a 4-3 mark during the crossover portion of the schedule. All seven games against the Southwest Division were decided by double figures, including losses at Le Moyne last Tuesday and Adelphi on Saturday

They'll be taking on a Stonehill team that won six of seven crossover games to improve to 14-5 overall and 10-3 conference. Since a 73-70 loss to Pace on Jan. 22, the Skyhawks have won three in a row, a stretch in which they've allowed an average of 44.3 points.

During the last two games, Bentley has uncharacteristically given up 15 three-pointers and a total of 69 points to Le Moyne and a season-high 85 points on 54 percent shooting to Adelphi. That follows a 15-game stretch in which the Falcons didn't allow more than 68 points and yielded less than 60 nine times.

Senior center Monica Viapiano (Holden/Holy Name HS) and sophomore guard Kari Brekke (Appleton, Wisc./Appleton North HS) top the scoring list for the Falcons. Viapiano, who has the third best field goal percentage in the NE10, produces 15.3 points and 6.8 rebounds a game. Brekke has raised her season norm to 12 points after scoring 13 or more in four of the last five games.

The scoring average for freshman guard Ella Thompson (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS) is at a season-high 8.7 after she's totaled 29 points in the last two games. She's made a three in 13 straight games and has knocked down seven of 14 three-balls in the last three contests.

Another who has raised her average is graduate forward Megan Lewis (Sevenoaks, England), who is up to 9.2 after scoring 12 and 15 in the last two games.

Stonehill features sophomore forward Kayla Raymond, the reigning NE10 Player of the Week. She's averaged 22.4 points in her last five games, including back-to-back 29 point performances last week. Injuries kept her out of seven of the first eight games, but she is providing the Skyhawks with 16.3 points and 7.7 rebounds in the 12 games she's played.

Sophomore guard Isabella Santoro follows Raymond on the scoring list at 13 per game but has not seen any game action since the holiday break. Two of the four Skyhawks who have played in every game are senior guard Grace Carter, who has connected 41 times from three, and senior forward Gabrielle Reuter, who averages 9.5 points.

These two programs met back in late November with Bentley posting a 69-54 homecourt win. Five Falcons scored in doubles, with senior guard Julia Ford (Charlton/Noble and Greenough) coming off the bench to score 15, and the Raymond-less Skyhawks were held to 31 percent shooting.

Bentley and Stonehill have met 111 times in a series that dates back to 1974-75 with the Falcons owning a 73-38 advantage after prevailing in 10 of the last 11.

Following the Stonehill game, Stevens and her team will be back in the Dana Center for a Saturday encounter with St. Michael's.