Press Conference

WALTHAM, Mass. – An outstanding season for the Bentley University women's basketball team came to an end Saturday evening on Barbara Stevens Court when the Falcons ran into a first-quarter buzzsaw and fell to Jefferson University, 68-50, in the semifinals of the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball East Regional.

Bentley finished at 27-6 overall with the season including sharing the Northeast-10 Conference regular season title, making it a three-peat as NE10 tournament champions, earning the right to host the region and being ranked 12^th in the latest WBCA Division II national rankings.

Meanwhile, Jefferson, the third-ranked team nationally and the region's number four seed, improved to 32-1 and moved on to face Daemen University in Monday's East Region final.

Bentley head coach C White, a former Falcon point guard praised her team and particularly current point guard Ella Thompson (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS) after the game. "I've beyond proud of this team for what they've accomplished. What Ella and the seniors have done for this program can't be put into words. This loss doesn't take that away."

Following the contest, longtime Jefferson coach Tom Shirley said "Bentley has a terrific legacy and tradition. I've referred to them as the Queen of the Region. But tonight they caught us on a very good night. Our 2-3 zone wreaked havoc."

The first quarter was all Jefferson as the visitors from Philadelphia built a commanding 24-6 lead on the strength of 18 points in the paint, a 10-0 edge in second chance points and an outstanding zone defense that limited the Falcons to three of 15 shooting.

"The first quarter bit us and we couldn't right the ship," said White. "Jefferson is a phenomenal team. They have four 1,000-point scorers, a player of the year, a defensive player of the year and the national assist leader, and they are very-well coached."

After the rough start, the closest that the Falcons would get was a dozen, 40-28, following a jumper from sophomore guard Cassidy Yeomans (Marion/Tabor Academy) with about seven minutes left in the third. But the Rams answered with a 12-5 surge to stretch the difference to 19.

Jefferson, which saw four of its five starters play the entire 40 minutes, was led by senior guard Morgan Robinson (Swedesboro, N.J.). She finished with 17 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals. Junior post Cassie Murphy (Bethlehem, Pa.) had a game-high 19 points and junior forward Sam Yencha (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) provided 17 rebounds and 11 points.

The only Falcon to score in doubles was sophomore post Ciara Norman (Roebling, N.J./Life Center Academy) with 13 points and nine rebounds off the bench. She was responsible for 11 of the Falcons' 23 points before intermission.

Junior forward Kylie DuCharme (Wilmington/Wilmington HS) had nine points and eight rebounds, and senior guard Brooke Obar (North Yarmouth, Maine/Greely HS) came off the bench to score nine, all from distance, and make four steals.

Thompson had six points in her final game as a collegian and finished her 118-game career with 1,282 points, 20^th in program history. "Five years of Ella is not enough" praised White.

In the final stats, Bentley had the edge in bench points (22-5), rebounds (38-36) and three-pointers (6-1). But that couldn't offset Jefferson's superior shooting (.492-.328) and 38 points in the paint.

In the first game, Daemen (22-7) punched its ticket to the final with a 68-58 win over second-seeded Assumption. Guard Alaha Paige scored 21 points and the Wildcats closed by scoring 12 of the final 14 points.

Monday's regional final between Jefferson and Daemen will tip at 7 pm.