WALTHAM, Mass. – The 2022-23 Bentley University women's basketball season will get underway this weekend in New Jersey when third-year head coach C White takes her Falcons to the Caldwell Conference Challenge at Caldwell University.

Bentley, number 13 in the preseason WBCA Division II national coaches poll, will debut Friday at 4 pm against Bloomfield College. Saturday afternoon at 1 pm, the Falcons will face the host Cougars in the second game of the opening weekend. Links to view both contests will be posted at www.bentleyfalcons.com/composite.

White returned nine players from last season's 19-9 team that captured the Northeast-10 Conference championship and earned the program's record 36^th NCAA Division II tournament berth. Included are starters Kari Brekke (Appleton, Wis./Appleton North HS), Ella Thompson (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS), Maggie Whitmore (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS) and Amanda Kabantu (Portland, Maine/Portland HS).

Thompson, a senior guard who was voted to the All-Northeast-10 second team, averaged 11.9 points, delivered 62 assists and buried 63 three-pointers. Brekke, twice a third-team All-Conference selection, led the NE10 in three-point accuracy (.423) while scoring 10.9 a game.

Whitmore, a six-foot junior, provided 8.9 points and 6.0 rebounds in her first year of collegian action, and Kabantu followed with averages of 6.8 points and 3.6 boards. Both were named to the Northeast-10 All-Rookie team.

Those four will likely be joined in the starting unit by 6-2 senior Bri Gillen (Lakeville/Bishop Feehan HS), who missed last season following knee surgery. Freshman Julia Elie (Rockland/Rockland HS), also 6-2, will also see considerable action in the post. Last year, she was the Massachusetts Basketball Coaches Association Division 3 Player of the Year.

White's rotation is also expected to include junior guards Janessa Gonzalez (Meriden, Conn./St. Paul Catholic HS) and Brooke Obar (North Yarmouth, Maine/Greely HS) and sophomore forward Kylie DuCharme (Wilmington/Wilmington HS). Sophomore forward Maddie Watford (Billerica/Billerica HS) completes the list of veterans.

The roster has been bolstered by the addition of six freshmen. In addition to Elie, they are forwards Quincy Ji (Beijing, China/Long Island Lutheran HS), Ciara Norman (Roebling, N.J./Life Center Academy) and Andrene Thomas (Brooklyn, N.Y./Long Island City HS) and Mikela Cooper (Surprise, Ariz./Valley Vista HS), and guard Cassidy Yeomans (Marion/Tabor Academy).

Bloomfield struggled to a 5-20 record last season, one in which they were outscored by nearly ten a game. Nine players are back this time around, including redshirt sophomore forward Daniva Darby. She was in 14 games, with six starts, and produced 9.3 points and 6.6 rebounds a game.

After a 13-15 record a year ago, Caldwell returns five of its top seven players. Senior guard Casey O'Shaughnessy is coming off a solid season in which she averaged 15.7 points and nearly three assists. Also among the returnees is senior forward Rebecca Morrison, who contributed 10.3 points and 5.4 rebounds, and senior forward Jessica Wagoner, who blocked 37 shots.

Bentley, the NE10 preseason favorite, will open its conference schedule Wednesday at Saint Anselm College.