WALTHAM, Mass. – Last March, the Bentley University women's basketball team traveled to Manchester, N.H. to take on Southern New Hampshire University in the Northeast-10 Conference championship game and returned home with their second straight NE10 tournament title.

The two programs will renew acquaintances on Wednesday with the contest from the SNHU Field House scheduled for a 5:30 pm tipoff. Fans who don't make the trip to Manchester can watch the action live on the NE10 NOW Digital Network.

Both teams are off to strong starts this season with Bentley, the 15^th-ranked team in this week's WBCA Division II coaches poll, 6-1 overall and SNHU 4-1. Coach C White's Falcons are 3-1 in NE10 play and the Penmen are unbeaten in four conference games.

Bentley, which will be playing on the road for the sixth time in eight games, is coming off a 59-42 win at Adelphi University Saturday. Coming up big were senior guard and tri-captain Brooke Obar (North Yarmouth, Maine/Greely HS) and junior forward Kylie DuCharme (Wilmington/Wilmington HS). Obar established career-bests in points (18) and three-pointers (6), with five of those coming in the second half. DuCharme filled the stat sheet with 17 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and three steals, and was a plus-30.

Graduate guard Ella Thompson (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS), the newest member of Bentley's 1,000-point club, is the team's top scorer for the season with a 14.1 average. She has buried 17 three-pointers and also contributes 4.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists a game.

In last year's conference championship game, Bentley went wire-to-wire for a 61-49 victory. In that one, senior forward Maggie Whitmore (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS) scored 17, Thompson followed with 15 and sophomore post Ciara Norman (Roebling, N.J./Life Center Academy). This season, Whitmore has a 12.4 average in five games and Norman 9.0 in four.

Southern New Hampshire, which has won two straight since a 57-51 non-conference loss to Post University, features two of the top three scorers in the Northeast-10. Graduate student Adriana Timberlake, last year's NE10 Player of the Year, averages 18.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists. Six-two senior Jess Knight is right behind her in scoring at 18.2, and her 8.8 rebound norm is fourth in the conference.

The Penmen are coming off a 65-60 road win at New Haven, a game in which they shot .548 overall but were outrebounded by 18. Timberlake scored 25 points for coach Karen Pinkos' team and Knight followed with 18.

Bentley leads the all-time series 48-8 and has won seven of the last nine, including all three last season. Ironically, each of the three were decided by exactly 12 points (63-51 on the road, 60-48 at home and 61-49 in the NE10 final).

After the game at SNHU, Bentley will play five in a row at home, beginning Dec. 16 against Molloy University.