WALTHAM, Mass. – Following a semifinal win over Franklin Pierce, the Bentley University Falcons will be looking to post the first NE10 three-peat in a decade when they host sixth-seeded Southern Connecticut State Sunday at 1:30 pm in the Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball championship game. Fans who can't make it to the Dana Center can watch live on NE10 NOW.

In the 40-plus year history of the conference championship tournament, there have only been three occurrences when a team has strung together three or more consecutive championships and they've all involved the Falcons. Bentley won three in a row from 1992-94 and had four-year streaks from 1998-2001 and 2011-14.

Overall, Bentley will be playing in the NE10 final for the 32^nd time in 42 opportunities and will be seeking its 23^rd Northeast-10 tournament crown. The Falcons bested Stonehill in 2022, 56-49, with Autumn Ceppi earning MVP honors and current senior forward Maggie Whitmore (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS) was last year's MVP as the Falcons won at Southern New Hampshire, 61-49.

Southern Connecticut State, after winning at third-seeded Saint Rose in Sunday's quarters and at second-seeded Assumption in Thursday's semis, will be playing in the title game for the first time since falling to Bentley in the 2012 championship, 79-52. The Owls won back-to-back championships in 2007 and 2008 when current head coach Kate Lynch was playing for Southern.

Bentley and Southern faced each other twice this year with the Falcons taking both, 66-47 down in New Haven on Jan. 16 and 72-57 on Barbara Stevens Court in the regular season finale. The top scorers were graduate guard Ella Thompson (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS), with an 18.5 average for Bentley, and senior forward Katie Williamson, with 14.0 per game for Southern.

Whitmore, Bentley's newest 1,000-point scorer, and Thompson are among five members of this year's Falcon team who have been part of the last two championship teams with the list also including senior guard Brooke Obar (North Yarmouth, Maine/Greely HS) and juniors Kylie DuCharme (Wilmington/Wilmington HS) and Amanda Kabantu (Portland, Maine/Portland HS).

C White, 10-0 as Bentley's head coach in NE10 playoff games, has been part of 14 of the Falcons' 22 championships with four as a player from 1997-2001 and eight as an assistant coach.

Bentley's top scorers in the postseason – Whitmore, Thompson and DuCharme – are also the team's top point producers for the season. Whitmore is averaging 12.4 points, Thompson is at 11.1 and DuCharme, the leading rebounder with 8.6 a game, follows at 10.8.

Bentley, which made seven of 16 three-pointers in Thursday's win over the Ravens, has half of the eight most accurate three-point shooters in the conference. Freshman guard and NE10 Rookie of the Week Niya Morgen (Swampscott/St. Mary's HS) tops the list at .500 (31-62). Whitmore is fifth (.400, 30/75), Obar is seventh (.385, 30/78) and Thompson is eighth (.377, 66/175). Thompson is also tied for the most trifectas by a conference player this season.

Quinnipiac transfer and senior guard  Makenzie Helms, Southern Connecticut's leading scorer with an 11.2 average, has stepped up in the Owls' three tournament wins. She had eight points against New Haven, 15 against Saint Rose and 26 at Assumption, resulting in averages of 16.3 points and 5.3 assists.

Williamson follows with a 10.8 scoring average and is the team leader in rebounds (7.1) and blocks (32).

Bentley leads the conference in scoring margin, three-pointers made, three-point percentage, fewest turnovers and opponent three-point accuracy, and is second in scoring, field goal percentage and free throw accuracy. The Falcons, third in scoring defense, outscore their opponents by 11.1 a game and have made more than twice as many three-pointers than the opposition, 219-106.

No team in the NE10 is better at the free throw stripe than Southern Connecticut (.767) and the Owls are second in assists. Coach Lynch's team ranks eighth in scoring and is fifth in points allowed.

Bentley is 34-12 all-time against Southern with 11 wins in the last 12 meetings. The two have met five times previously in the NE10's, most recently in 2018, with the Falcons 4-1 in those games.

NORTHEAST-10 CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

First Round – Friday, March 1
Game 1: #5 Franklin Pierce 65, #12 Saint Michael's 63
Game 2: #6 Southern Connecticut 60, #11 New Haven 44
Game 3: #7 Pace 55, #10 Adelphi 46
Game 4: #8 American International 64, #9 Saint Anselm 56
Quarterfinals – Sunday, March 3
Game 5: #1 Bentley 73, #8 American International 61
Game 6: #2 Assumption 55, #7 Pace 54
Game 7: #6 So. Connecticut 58, #3 Saint Rose 53
Game 8: #5 Franklin Pierce 78, #4 So. New Hampshire 67
Semifinals – Thursday, March 7
Game 9: #1 Bentley 66, #5 Franklin Pierce 57
Game 10: #6 Southern Connecticut 60, #2 Assumption 47
Championship – Sunday, March 10
Game 11: #6 Southern Connecticut at #1 Bentley, 1:30 pm.