No. 14 Bentley Hosts Southern Conn Tuesday, Can Clinch at Least Share of NE10 Title with Win
WALTHAM, Mass. – The Bentley University women's basketball can clinch at least a share of the Northeast-10 championship Tuesday evening when the Falcons host Southern Connecticut State on Barbara Stevens Court in the regular season finale. As usual, the 5:30 pm game will be streamed over the NE10 NOW Digital Network.
Coach C White's Falcons enter the final day of the regular season even with Assumption University at the top of the conference standings, both with 17-4 NE10 records. Assumption will also be at home in their regular season finale, taking on 10th-place Adelphi University.
Bentley, which will be seeking its 26th conference title, is 22-5 overall after holding off Pace University on Saturday, 63-60 for its third win in four games. The Falcons, number 14 in last week's WBCA Division II coaches poll, are 11-2 at home this season, including 9-1 in conference action.
Southern Connecticut, currently in fifth place, is 16-11 overall and 13-8 NE10. The Owls, 6-7 on the road, had won five straight before falling to streaking Franklin Pierce, 48-43, on Saturday.
In the first meeting between the Falcons and the Owls, Bentley posted a 66-47 win down in New Haven on Jan. 16. Senior forward Maggie Whitmore (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS) led the Falcons with 17 points, graduate guard Ella Thompson (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS) followed with 12 points and seven assists, and the Bentley defense limited Southern to 28 percent shooting, including three of 20 from deep.
Whitmore and Thompson are among Bentley's top scorers for the season with averages of 12.4 and 10.7 points, respectively. Whitmore has pulled within 30 of the 1,000-point milestone and Thompson scored her 1200th on Saturday, becoming the 23rd Falcon to do so.
Whitmore is one of two NE10 players with at least 300 points, 160 rebounds and 50 assists this season. Thompson's 57 three-pointers ranks second in the conference and her 217 career treys is fourth most in Bentley history.
In between Whitmore and Thompson with a 10.8 scoring average is junior forward Kylie DuCharme (Wilmington/Wilmington HS), one of the most improved players in the conference. She had her eighth double-double on Saturday (15 points, 11 rebounds) and is one of three conference players with at least 75 offensive rebounds and 40 steals.
Freshman guard Niya Morgen (Swampscott/St. Mary's HS), still the NE10 leader in three-point accuracy (.517), averages 8.2 points off the bench. That number is matched by sophomore post Ciara Norman (Roebling, N.J./Life Center Academy), who has scored 29 points in 39:37 in her four games since returning to action.
In addition to Morgen, the NE10's top five in three-point percentage includes senior guard Brooke Obar (North Yarmouth, Maine/Greely HS) at .406 and Whitmore at .403.
As a team, Bentley ranks fifth in Division II in scoring defense (53.6), three-point accuracy (.376) and fewest turnovers (12.7), as well as eighth in three-point percentage defense (.248).
Southern Connecticut is led by six-one senior Katie Williamson and graduate guard Makenzie Helms, each of whom average 11 points a game. Williamson also leads the Owls in rebounds (7.3) and blocks (26), and Helms is fourth in the conference in free throw attempts.
Junior guard Delaney Haines is Southern's top three-point shooter with a .389 accuracy rate (35 of 90).
Southern has been solid at the defensive end with the Owls fifth in the conference and 18th in Division II in fewest points allowed (55.7).
The all-time series is led by the Falcons, 33-12, with the Falcons having won 10 of the last 11.
The Northeast-10 Championships will get underway on Friday with the Falcons having a first-round bye. Bentley will host a quarterfinal game on Sunday afternoon.