WALTHAM, Mass. – After extending its winning streak to nine, the Bentley University women's basketball team will be back in action Thursday afternoon at Pace University. It will be the third of four games in an eight-day span for Division II's eighth-ranked team.

The 1:30 pm game from the Goldstein Fitness Center in Pleasantville, N.Y. will be streamed over the NE10 NOW Digital Network.

Bentley, 17-2 overall, sits atop the Northeast-10 standings with a 12-1 conference record. Following an undefeated January, coach C White's team enters February with a two-game lead in the loss column over both Assumption and Southern New Hampshire.

The Pace Setters have won four of their last five and are in fifth place in the NE10 with an 8-5 record. Their 14-5 overall record includes 6-2 on their home court.

Bentley's ninth straight win came Tuesday night at Saint Anselm where the Falcons never trailed and allowed only 37 points over the first three quarters. The 71-57 final included a 15-3 edge in second chance points and 24-9 advantage in points via the three-ball.

Against the Hawks, senior forward Maggie Whitmore (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS) and junior forward Kylie DuCharme (Wilmington/Wilmington HS) each made 8 of 14 shots overall. Whitmore finished with 18 points and nine rebounds, and DuCharme provided 16 and 11.

Whitmore has averaged 14.2 points and 8.8 rebounds over the last five, elevating her season norms to 13.2 and 6.8. DuCharme leads the squad in rebounds (8.2), steals (25) and blocks (13) while scoring 10.7 a game.

White's starting lineup has been constant during the current streak with Whitmore and DuCharme joined by graduate Ella Thompson (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS), junior Amanda Kabantu (Portland, Maine/Portland HS) and sophomore Cassidy Yeomans (Marion/Tabor Academy). All three have started every game this season. Thompson averages 10.7 points, Kabantu 4.9 and Yeomans 5.3

Off the bench, freshman guard Niya Morgen (Swampscott/St. Mary's HS) provides nearly ten a game and has made 25 of 45 from deep. Senior guard Brooke Obar (No. Yarmouth, Maine/Greely HS) is also a threat from deep as she connects at a 41 percent clip.

Both Bentley and Pace are known for their defense. The Falcons are third in defending the three and fourth in fewest points allowed. In the same categories, Pace ranks seventh and 13^th, respectively. Bentley has kept nine teams to 50 or less, and Pace has done it six times.

The top scorers for coach Carrie Seymour's team are juniors Taylor Lorde and Arianna Stockinger. Lorde, a post player who has missed the last three games and was out for three others in December, averages 12.4 points and 7.6 rebounds. Stockinger follows with 12.3 points per game. She had 18 points and 11 rebound in Tuesday's 59-52 win at Adelphi.

Bentley, 34-8 all-time against the Setters, defeated Pace in the 2023 NE10 semifinals, 57-52, after the two teams split the regular season series with each winning on the road. In that game, junior post Julia Elie (Rockland/Rockland HS) scored a career-high 16 points and Kabantu filled the stat sheet with 13 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two blocks.

48 hours after the opening jump at Pace, Bentley will be back at home for a Saturday matinee against Adelphi University. That day, the Falcons' 2014 national championship team will be celebrated.