WALTHAM, Mass. – After playing on Barbara Stevens Court only twice during the season's first eight games, the nationally-ranked Bentley University women's basketball team will launch a five-game homestand Saturday with the first of two games in a three-day span. Tipoff for the encounter with Molloy University is set for 1:30 pm, with a stream available at NE10NOW.tv/BentleyFalcons.

Fans are encouraged to be in their seats by 1:10 as the Bentley women's basketball teams from 1988-89 to 1992-93 will be recognized for their recent induction into the Northeast-10 Conference Hall of Fame in the team special achievement category.

That was a remarkable and unprecedented stretch for the Falcons as they earned five consecutive trips to the NCAA Division II Final Four while posting a record of 156-16 and winning at least 30 annually. There were 87 wins in 90 Northeast-10  regular season games, five consecutive conference regular season championships and three Northeast-10 tournament championships. Many of the 27 women who were part of those teams are expected to be present, along with Coach Stevens, a 2020 inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

The day will also include paying tribute to former Bentley standout and national champion Lauren Battista '14, the 2014 WBCA Division II national player of the year, for her recent induction into the Bentley Athletic Hall of Fame.

Bentley, which hasn't played a game since Dec. 6 when coach C White's team posted a 59-52 victory at Southern New Hampshire, is off to a 7-1 start. That's despite four of the top nine players having missed time due to injury.

The team's top scorers are graduate guard Ella Thompson (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS) and senior forward Maggie Whitmore (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS), with averages of 13.3 and 11.5 points, respectively.

In recent games, junior forward Kylie DuCharme (Wilmington/Wilmington HS) and senior guard Brooke Obar (North Yarmouth, Maine/Greeley HS) have been stepping up. DuCharme has averaged 18 points and 11.5 rebounds in her last two games, and Obar has made 11 of 19 three-pointers in her last three games.

The Falcons rank eighth in Division II in three-point accuracy and are also 15^th in fewest turnovers, 17^th in scoring defense, 27^th in fewest fouls and 28^th in three-pointers made.

Molloy will make the trip from Long Island with a 3-6 record following a 55-46 victory over D'Youville this past Sunday. That game saw coach Joe Pellicane's Lions lead 15-4 after the opening quarter and Trinity Hudson score 21 points.

Hudson, a fifth-year senior whose scoring has improved every season, is averaging 12.8 points, 11.1 rebounds and nearly two steals per game. Junior forward Samantha Fuller is the team's other double-figure scorer as she nets 10.7 a game.

The Lions, who played three straight overtime games earlier this season, average 63.0 points and allow 67.9.

This will be the sixth meeting between the two programs with Bentley owning a 3-2 advantage. Last year, the Falcons gained the win, 62-46, with Whitmore and Thompson both scoring 11. A 19-6 fourth quarter helped Bentley seize control of what had been a close game.

Bentley's homestand will continue Monday with a 4:30 game against 9-1 Holy Family. That will be the Falcons' final contest until Jan. 3.