No. 22 Bentley Hosts Carlow Friday in White’s Debut as Head Coach
WALTHAM, Mass. – Former Bentley University women's basketball guard and longtime assistant coach C White will make her long awaited debut as head coach at her alma mater Friday night when the Falcons host Carlow College. Game time on Barbara Stevens Court is 6 pm and a webcast will be available on NE10 NOW.
White, whose team was ranked 22nd in the preseason Women's Basketball Coaches Association Division II coaches poll, put her team to the test about a week ago when they played at Division I Providence. While the final score favored the Friars, the Falcons won the second half by a count of 33-25 with the Bentley defense limiting PC to 32 percent shooting after intermission.
The starters against Providence were senior guard Kari Brekke (Appleton, Wis./Appleton North HS), junior guard Ella Thompson (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS), Bucknell transfer and 2020-21 Patriot League All-Defense selection Autumn Ceppi (Bedford/Dana Hall HS), sophomore Maggie Whitmore (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS) and freshman Amanda Kabantu (Portland, Maine/Portland HS).
Whitmore was Bentley's top scorer and rebounder against Providence, finishing with 13 points and seven boards.
The top returnees for the Falcons from the 2019-20 team are Brekke and Thompson. Brekke was a third-team All-Northeast-10 selection who produced 12 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists a game. Thompson, the NE10 Rookie of the Year, was next on the list, averaging 9.4 points.
Senior Kolleen Bouchard (Houlton, Maine/Houlton HS) and freshman Kylie DuCharme (Wilmington/Wilmington HS) led the Bentley non-starters in playing time against Providence, with 21 and 20 minutes respectively.
Carlow, an NAIA program from Pittsburgh, will come into the Dana Center having already played five games. The Celtics are 2-3 after dropping their last two, including 57-46 to Pittsburgh-Greensburg Tuesday. They also had an abbreviated season last year, finishing at 2-10.
Third-year head coach Albert DeSalvo's lineup has been constant to date with senior point guard Angelica Orozco joined by six-foot-two senior Megan Ost, sophomore guard Megan Lydon, senior guard Caitlyn Trombley and junior guard Julie LaZar.
Orozco is the team's top scorer, averaging 10.8 points along with 2.6 assists. Ost follows at nine points and seven rebounds.
Bentley's Northeast-10 schedule will begin Wednesday with the visiting Saint Anselm College. That will begin a stretch of four straight on the road, including two top-15 teams, Stonehill and Valdosta State.