SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Senior guard McKayla Roberts (North Syracuse, N.Y.), the conference's all-time leader in three-pointers, drained her 293rd career triple with 8.1 seconds left to give Le Moyne College, the second seed out of the Southwest Division, a 54-51 win over Bentley University, the Northeast Division's third seed, in the quarterfinals of the Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball championships Sunday afternoon at Ted Grant Court.

Le Moyne, 19-8, will advance to face Stonehill in Thursday's semifinals while Bentley, 19-9, will have to wait until next Sunday night for the announcement of the NCAA Division II tournament field to see if its season will continue. Before dropping the regular season finale to Saint Anselm and this game, the Falcons were ranked fourth in the East Region.

Roberts led all scorers with 24 points while Bentley was led by senior center Monica Viapiano (Holden, Mass./ Holy Name HS) with 18, including the 1,000th of her career.

The Falcons, who trailed for only 2:41 all afternoon, held a 51-47 lead after sophomore guard Kari Brekke (Appleton, Wisc./Appleton North HS) drained a three-ball with 4:19 left. That proved to be Bentley's final points of the game as five of the next six possessions resulted in turnovers.

Dolphin junior guard Liz Millea (Cooperstown, N.Y.) answered Brekke's basket with a six-footer, making it a two-point game with four to play. It stayed that way until Roberts, two of nine from deep up to that point, buried the go-ahead triple.

Bentley attempted to inbound the ball with 6.1 seconds, but before the pass from sophomore guard Kolleen Bouchard (Houlton, Maine/Houlton HS) could reach its destination, Viapiano, the intended target, was called for an offensive foul.

Le Moyne senior Caitlin Corcoran (Beverly, Mass.) went to the foul line with 2.6 seconds left and sank both to make it a three-point game. After Bentley advanced the ball via a timeout, a potential game-tying three by Brekke rimmed out and the Dolphins had the stunning victory.

Before the Roberts three, the Dolphins' only leads of the game came in the opening 4:30. Bentley, after trailing by four early, scored ten unanswered to go up 14-8. Viapiano had five of the ten and Brekke capped the surge with a corner three.

Bentley, up 15-12 after one, also had success during the middle of the second and third quarters, only to see Le Moyne close the much of the gap by the end of the stanza. In the second, Bentley ran off nine straight after the two teams were tied at 17, but the difference was down to four at the half, 29-25. In the third. Le Moyne scored the final six after a 9-2 Bentley run made it 40-31.

The Falcons restored the lead to eight early in the fourth with a Bouchard lay-up and a three from graduate forward Meg Lewis (Sevenoaks, England) making it 45-37. The Dolphins scored the next seven to draw within one, 45-44, with 5:57 left, and the two teams were never separated by more than four again.

Viapiano, the 37th player in Bentley history to reach 1,000, scored 16 of her 18 points in the first half and finished seven of 18 from the field. Lewis scored 11, elevating her career total to 999, and Brekke was next on the list with nine points. Bentley also received eight points, all in the second half, from junior guard Katie Meriggioli (Waunakee, Wisc./Edgewood HS). Lewis and Viapiano led the Falcons in rebounds, with seven and six, respectively.

Roberts, who played all 40 minutes, shot 10 of 22 from the floor and also had four rebounds and three assists.

Bentley outshot the home team by a slim margin, 40-38 percent, but the Dolphins used an 11-6 advantage in offensive rebounds and four fewer turnovers (13-17) to take 11 more shots. Le Moyne outscored the Falcons 11-6 in points off turns and 12-5 in second chance points.