CALDWELL, N.J. – With 12 different players scoring and the same number collecting rebounds, the Bentley University women's basketball team opened the season with a 75-47 coast-to-coast win over Bloomfield College Friday afternoon during the Caldwell Conference Challenge.

Junior guard Maggie Whitmore (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS) led the offense with 13 points and freshman forward Ciara Norman (Roebling, N.J./Life Center Academy) added 12 off the bench.

Bentley, number 13 in Division II preseason, took a 34-24 lead into the halftime break with nine of the 11 players to see action cracking the scoring column and eight claiming at least one rebound. _ Whitmore had six points and senior guard Ella Thompson (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS) had a five-point, six-rebound half. She finished with seven caroms and five points.

The first quarter, which ended with Bentley up 14-9, featured a pair of 6-0 runs. The Falcons scored the game's first six points and made it a 12-4 game following another string of six. And six was the number of Bentley players who scored in the stanza.

After the Bears closed to within one, Bentley ran off nine straight to open a 26-17 lead midway through the second. Junior guard Janessa Gonzalez (Meriden, Conn./St. Paul Catholic HS) scored the first five and Thompson followed with a long three-pointer.

Bentley opened the third quarter with a 13-4 burst to stretch the lead to 47-28. Senior post Bri Gillen (Lakeville, Mass./Bishop Feehan HS), playing her first game since March 1, 2020, scored the first six coming out of the halftime break.

The lead peaked at 29 for the first time, 71-42, when freshman guard Cassidy Yeomans (Marion, Mass./Tabor Academy) sank a three with 1:40 to play.

Whitmore, five of eight from the field, had eight rebounds in addition to her 13 points. Norman, in her collegiate debut, was five-of-seven in her 10 minutes of playing time. Gonzalez and Gillen finished with seven apiece, Yeomans six and four others had five. Freshman Julia Elie (Rockland, Mass./Rockland HS) grabbed 11 rebounds, including an eye-popping nine offensive.

Bentley outshot Bloomfield 43-32 percent, made six of the game's seven three-pointers and had a 50-38 rebounding advantage. The Falcons also had the edge in assists (17-7), points off turns (21-9), points in the paint (40-26) and bench points (40-27).

The tournament continues Saturday with Bentley playing Caldwell at 1 pm.