Box Score         Press Conference

WORCESTER, Mass. – Junior forward Maggie Whitmore (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS) put up a 16-point, 11-rebound double-double, freshman post Julia Elie (Rockland/Rockland HS) scored a dozen off the bench and the Falcon defense was outstanding as Bentley University women's basketball advanced in the NCAA Division II East Regional with a first-round 53-39 win over Le Moyne College Friday night at Assumption University's Laska Gymnasium.

The fifth-seeded Falcons, 22-9 after earning their eighth consecutive win, will move on to face top-seeded Assumption Saturday at 7:30 in the regional semis. Le Moyne, which had defeated Bentley earlier in the season by almost an identical score (53-38), finished the season at 21-7.

"I'm super thrilled to be moving on," said Bentley head coach C White. "It's an awesome feeling to beat a very good team. This was a hard-fought defensive battle."

Bentley, down 15-8 two-and-a-half minutes into the second quarter, outscored the Northeast-10 regular season co-champions 18-11 the rest of the quarter to head into the half even at 26.

Elie had a couple inside baskets to ignite the run and senior guard Ella Thompson (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS) twice sank a three-ball, one from the right of center and the other from the left of center, which each putting the Falcons in front.

The Falcons were up 36-30 after outscoring the Dolphins 10-4 in a low scoring third quarter. Elie had six in the third, two more than Le Moyne did as a team. The Dolphins were limited to just two of 16, including 0-for-6 from downtown.

Whitmore scored the first four points of the fourth, a pull-up and two free throws, and Bentley had its biggest lead of the night up to that point, 40-30.

Le Moyne freshman guard Sydney Lusher (Oneida, N.Y.) got her team back in the contest, making a three and a long two, to cut the Bentley advantage in half, 40-35 with 6:13 to play.

The Falcons responded with a five-point spurt of their own, pushing the spread back to 10, 45-35. Freshman post Ciara Norman (Roebling, N.J./Life Center Academy) made one of two at the line, sophomore guard Amanda Kabantu (Portland, Maine/Portland HS) drove baseline after a feed from Whitmore, and Whitmore, the nation's ninth best free throw shooter, sank two from the stripe.

Bentley continued the parade to the charity stripe, making eight of ten over the final three minutes.

The Falcons outscored the Dolphins 17-4 from the line and received perfection from Whitmore on her eight attempts.

Bentley didn't shoot well (.333 overall, 4 of 23 from three) but held the Dolphins to .254 overall, 3 of 18 from downtown and just 5 of 32 in the second half.

White's team had a 45-37 rebound advantage and finished with a 14-8 edge in second chance points, despite giving up 16 offensive rebounds. Norman was a force on the boards, finishing with 13, including five offensive.

Bentley also recorded 13 assists on its 16 baskets, including four in the first half from freshman guard Cassidy Yeomans (Marion/Tabor Academy).

Assumption, the conference co-champions along with Le Moyne, advanced with a 71-49 win over eighth-seeded Dominican University. It was tied at 39 heading into the fourth, which completely belonged to the Greyhounds, 32-12.

Bentley and the Hounds met once during the season and the Falcons soared to a 76-48 homecourt win two months ago.

 In the other quarterfinal games, Jefferson took care of Daemen, 74-47, and Southern New Hampshire prevailed over Saint Thomas Aquinas, 65-44. The two winners will face off in the 5:00 game on Saturday.