WALTHAM, Mass. – For the first time since 2016, the Dana Center's Barbara Stevens Court at Bentley University will be the site for the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball East Regional with action getting underway with four games Friday and continuing with two on Saturday evening and the regional final Monday at 7 pm.

The host Bentley Falcons, number 12 in the WBCA Division II rankings after sharing the Northeast-10 regular season title and capturing the NE10 championships for the third straight season, are the number one seed and enter their record 38^th NCAA tournament with a 26-5 overall record, including 7-3 against tournament teams. Coach C White's team will face eighth-seeded Mercy College in Friday's third game, with tipoff scheduled for 5 pm.

Friday's schedule will get underway at noon, with third-seeded Saint Rose taking on the sixth seed, East Coast Conference champion Daemen University. The 2:30 pm game will pit second-seed and defending champion Assumption University against number seven Franklin Pierce. After the first match-up between Bentley and Mercy since 2008, the day will wrap up with fourth-seeded Jefferson University facing the fifth-seed, Southern New Hampshire.

NCAA Championships Pass will handle the streaming of all regional games across the country. Games will be available on NCAA.com, NE10NOW.tv, and the NCAA Championships Pass app available for Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Google TV. Fans will have three viewing options: $9.95 per contest, $29.95 for all Division II Women's Basketball Championship games excluding the national semifinals and championship game, and $49.95 for all Division II Women's and Men's Basketball Championship games, excluding the national semifinals and championship games. Tickets are available by clicking here.

While none of the current players have experienced an NCAA tournament game at home, the Bentley program has a history of success while playing regional games in the Dana. The Falcons are 17-1 since 2003 and have cut down the home nets five times during that stretch.

Balance and defense have been among the keys to Bentley's success this season, which has included a 15-2 record on Barbara Stevens Court. Four players earned All-Northeast-10 recognition this season and three earned All-Tournament honors at last week's NE10 Championships with junior forward Kylie DuCharme (Wilmington/Wilmington HS), a third-team All-Conference pick, the only one to make both lists.

Graduate guard Ella Thompson (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS) and senior forward Maggie Whitmore (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS) were voted to the All-Northeast-10 first team and freshman guard Niya Morgen (Swampscott/St. Mary's HS) was tabbed as the NE10 Rookie of the Year. Sophomore forward Ciara Norman (Roebling, N.J./Life Center Academy) was chosen as the Most Outstanding Player in the NE10 Championships and junior guard Amanda Kabantu (Portland, Maine/ Portland HS) was included on the All-Tournament Team.

During the conference championships, seven players produced at least six points a game with DuCharme topping the list at 10.7. And during the regular season, five sported scoring averages between 7.8 and 12.1 points, and three others produced at least five a game.

Defensively, the Falcons rank eighth in Division II in scoring defense. White's team is 10-0 when giving up under 50 points and 11-1 when keeping the opponents in the 50's. For the season, the Falcons limit the opponents to 53.9 points per game and shooting percentages of .377 overall and .261 from deep.

Whitmore and Thompson, both members of Bentley's 1,000-point club, are the team's top scorers for the season. Whitmore, the best free throw shooter in program history, tops the list with averages of 12.1 points and 6.7 rebounds. Thompson, who leads the NE10 in three-pointers made (67), follows at 11.1 points per game and has a team-best 94 assists.

DuCharme leads Bentley in rebounds, steals and blocks in addition to scoring close to 11 a game. Norman, who missed about two months due to injury, has averaged 9.8 points off the bench over the last five contests.

Bentley's nine-player rotation also includes starting guard Cassidy Yeomans (Marion/Tabor Academy), senior guard Brooke Obar (North Yarmouth, Maine/Greely HS) and six-two sophomore Julia Elie (Rockland/Rockland HS). All have scored in doubles multiple times during the season.

Mercy, which is making its first NCAA appearance in 39 years, is 20-9 after falling to Daemen, 55-50 in Sunday's ECC championship game. Prior to that loss, the Mavericks had won ten straight, a stretch in which they limited their opponents to 52.4 points per game. Overall, Mercy has kept its opponents to shooting marks of .365 overall and .258 from three.

Sophomore Angelina Barrera was selected as the ECC Defensive Player of the Year, grad student Katie Wall and junior Jaclyn Stanavich received all-conference first-team honors and sixth-year head coach Scott Lagas was recognized as the ECC Coach of the Year.

Wall averages 16.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.8 steals with a team-best 61 three-pointers. Stanavich follows at 15.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.1 steals, and Barretta is the Mavericks' top rebounder (8.4) and shot blocker (31). Both Wall and Barrera spent a lot of time at the foul line with over 300 combined free throw attempts.

Bentley and Mercy have met only four times previously, all Falcon wins with the most recent encounter coming 16 years ago.

The winner of the Bentley-Mercy game will face the advancing team from the Jefferson-Southern N.H. game in the second half of Saturday's semifinal doubleheader. Jefferson, the CACC champion, has had an amazing 30-1 season with the only loss coming in triple OT back on Dec. 9, 107-97 to Bloomsburg. SNHU, 17-10 after dropping five in a row, features two-time NE10 Player of the Year Adriana Timberlake.

Saint Rose, an NCAA regional participant for the first time since 2011, leads Division II in both scoring defense (47.5) and field goal percentage defense (.323) under the leadership of NE10 Coach of the Year Will Brown. Daemen, which is making its fifth straight NCAA appearance, is led by ECC Player of the Year Alahna Paige, a 5-4 senior guard who averages 21.9 points and shoots 41 percent from three.

Northeast-10 rivals Assumption (24-5) and Franklin Pierce (17-10) are a combined 17-4 since Feb. 1.  They split their two regular season meetings with the road team prevailing each time, Assumption 77-51 on Jan. 6 and Franklin Pierce 80-71 on Feb. 17.

The semifinals will be Saturday at 5 and 7:30 pm and the championship is schedule for 7 pm Monday. A trip to St. Joseph, Mo. for the Elite Eight is awaiting the regional champion.

NCAA DIVISION II EAST REGIONAL
At Bentley University, Waltham, Mass.

Quarterfinals – Friday, March 15
#1 Bentley (26-5) vs. #8 Mercy (20-9), 5:00
#4 Jefferson (30-1) vs. #5 Southern New Hampshire (17-10), 7:30
#3 Saint Rose (21-6) vs. #6 Daemen (20-7), 12:00
#2 Assumption (24-5) vs. #7 Franklin Pierce (20-10), 2:30

Semifinals – Saturday, March 16
Bentley-Mercy winner vs. Jefferson-SNHU winner, 7:30
Saint Rose-Daemen winner vs. Assumption-FPU winner, 5:00

Championship – Monday, March 18
7:00