WALTHAM, Mass. – American International College will provide the opposition Sunday afternoon when the Bentley University Falcons begin their bid for a three-peat as the Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball playoff champions at the Dana Center. Tip-off on Barbara Stevens Court for the quarterfinal game is set for 1:30 pm with a live stream available on NE10 NOW.

Only three times in NE10 history has a team won the conference championships at least three straight years and on each of those occasions, it was Bentley that did so. The Falcons won three in a row from 1992-94 and had four-year streaks from 1998-2001 and 2011-14. All-time, Bentley has 22 championships and a playoff record of 94-18.

AIC, which advanced to the quarterfinals by virtue of a 64-56 first-round win over Saint Anselm College Friday night, won its only NE10 tournament title in 2002 when current Yellow Jacket head coach Kristen Hutchison was the championship MVP.

Bentley, which secured the number one seed by virtue of finishing in a tie for first in the regular season and an overtime win by Saint Rose at Southern New Hampshire, enters the postseason with a 23-5 record and four wins in its last five contests. In conference quarterfinals, the Falcons are 37-3 all-time.

AIC, the eighth seed, are 15-14 overall. The Yellow Jackets, who have not strung together consecutive wins since December, have advanced to the semifinals 14 times in 38 championship appearances.

These two teams met twice during the regular season with each protecting home court. AIC rallied to win out in Springfield Nov. 21, 66-64, and the Falcons evened the series with a 67-50 victory Jan. 24. Leading scorers in the two match-ups were senior guard Maggie Whitmore (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS) for Bentley (15.5) and five-nine senior Briana Lee for AIC (16.0).

The expected starting lineup for fourth-year Bentley head coach C White includes Whitmore, graduate guard Ella Thompson (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS), junior guard Amanda Kabantu (Portland, Maine/Portland HS), junior forward Kylie DuCharme (Wilmington/Wilmington HS) and sophomore guard Cassidy Yeomans (Marion/Tabor Academy). White, 64-24 as Bentley's head coach, has been part of 14 NE10 tournament championship teams – four as a player, eight as the top assistant to Hall of Famer Barbara Stevens and two as a head coach.

Whitmore, 19 points away from becoming Bentley's 39^th 1,000-point scorer, leads the Falcons with a 12.4 average. She also contributes nearly seven rebounds a game, is one of three Falcons shooting at least 40 percent from three and is the NE10 leader in free throw percentage (.878).

Thompson, one of eight players in program history with at least 1200 points and 300 assists, matched her career-high with 25 points in Tuesday's 72-57 win over Southern Connecticut State. Her 62 three-pointers ranks second in the conference and she nets 11.2 points a game.

Also scoring in doubles for the Falcons is DuCharme, with averages of 10.9 points and 8.6 rebounds. Her season has included nine double-doubles, including two straight.

Next on the Bentley scoring list are junior forward Ciara Norman (Roebling, N.J./Life Center Academy) and freshman guard Niya Morgen (Swampscott/St. Mary's HS), with averages of 8.1 and 8.0, respectively. Morgen leads the NE10 in three-point shooting (.508) and senior guard Brooke Obar (North Yarmouth, Maine/Greely HS) is fourth at .403.

AIC's Lee, a transfer from Felician where she earned All-CACC honors, is in the top four in the NE10 in scoring (17.9), rebounds (9.6), field goal percentage (.618), steals (58) and free throws (119). Her 56 career double-doubles ranks first among active Division II players, and she's one of two active D-II players with at least 1800 points and 1000 rebounds.

Other key players for AIC are graduate guard Kayla Robinson and junior forward Rhaymi Porter. Robinson averages 13.3 points and Porter leads the NE10 in blocks with 77.

Bentley enters the postseason ranked second in the NE10 in scoring and third in scoring defense. Meanwhile, AIC is third in scoring and 11^th in defense.

The winner of Sunday's game will take on the Southern New Hampshire-Franklin Pierce survivor on Thursday. The championship game is scheduled for Sunday, March 10.

NORTHEAST-10 CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS

First Round – Friday, March 1

Game 1: #5 Franklin Pierce 65, #12 Saint Michael's 63

Game 2: #6 Southern Connecticut 60, #11 New Haven 44

Game 3: #7 Pace 55, #10 Adelphi 46

Game 4: #8 American International 64, #9 Saint Anselm 56

Quarterfinals – Sunday, March 3

Game 5: #8 American International at #1 Bentley – 1:30 PM

Game 6: #7 Pace at #2 Assumption – 1:30 PM

Game 7: #6 So. Connecticut at #3 Saint Rose – 4:00 PM

Game 8: #5 Franklin Pierce at #4 So. New Hampshire – 1:30 PM

Semifinals – Thursday, March 7 (at highest remaining seeds)

Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 8 winner

Game 10: Game 6 winner vs. Game 3 winner

Championship – Sunday, March 10 (at highest remaining seed)