WALTHAM, Mass. – Senior guard Ella Thompson (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS) scored 13 points, all in the first half, and junior forward Maggie Whitmore (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS) followed with 12 as Bentley University went wire-to-wire for a 78-41 win over The College of Saint Rose in Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball late Tuesday afternoon at the Daniel F. Nolan Gymnasium.

Bentley, with recorded its third straight win, improved to 9-4 overall and 6-1 NE10.  The Falcons remained atop the conference standings, along with Assumption and Southern New Hampshire. Saint Rose, which was limited to 14 first-half points, dipped to 5-6 overall and 3-4 conference.

By halftime, Bentley had a commanding lead, 41-14, after outscoring the Golden Knights 17-7 in the opening quarter and 24-7 in the second. The Falcons shot .583 over the first 20 minutes, limited the opening team to five baskets in 27 attempts (.185) and owned the backboards with a 24-9 advantage.

Thompson opened the game with a left side three and a driving lay-up to give her team a lead they would never relinquish.

Bentley closed the second quarter with 14 consecutive points with Saint Rose scoreless over the final four minutes. Thompson had five, sophomore forward Kyle Ducharme (Wilmington, Mass./Wilmington HS) sank four-of-four from the line and Whitmore did the same.

The run reached 18 and the Saint Rose dry spell extended to ten minutes as Bentley scored the first four points of a low-scoring third.

Bentley outscored Saint Rose 24-15 in the fourth with the lead peaking at 42, 74-32, on a pair of free throws from freshman guard Cassidy Yeomans (Marion, Mass./Tabor Academy), one of 12 Falcons to get on the scoreboard.

Thompson, who sank three of four from downtown, also had two rebounds, a steal and an assist. Whitmore did much of her scoring from the line, a perfect eight-of eight, and graduate guard Kari Brekke (Appleton, Wis./Appleton North HS) was the third Falcon in double figures as she finished with ten points and six assists.

Bentley also received nine from junior guard Janessa Gonzalez (Meriden, Conn./St. Paul Catholic HS), and eight from both freshman post Julia Elie (Rockland, Mass./Rockland HS) and Ducharme. They all came off the bench with the Falcon non-starters combining for 33 points.

Bentley outshot the home team 46-27 percent, made nine of the game's 13 three-pointers and was a solid 17 of 20 from the foul stripe. Rebounds were all Falcons, 47-27, and the Falcons scored 20 second-chance points.

The next game for coach C White's team is Saturday afternoon at American International.