For Immediate Release
Click here for the full release
December 7, 2011
South Easton, Mass. – The Bentley University women's basketball team once again topped the latest USA Today/ESPN Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll, marking the second consecutive week the Falcons have been named the nation's top program. Bentley received 29 of 31 first-place votes for 771 total points in Tuesday's edition of the rankings.
The Falcons earned a pair of wins at home last week, defeating Saint Michael's College, 75-66, and Southern New Hampshire University, 76-43. Bentley bettered its record to a perfect 7-0 in the process, including a 5-0 mark in Northeast-10 Conference play.
Sophomore Lauren Battista (pictured) has posted per-game averages of 17.6 points and 6.7 rebounds while leading the Northeast-10 in field goal percentage (.662) for the Falcons.
Bentley will travel to Rindge, N.H. tonight (5:30 p.m.) in a battle of two unbeaten teams, as the No. 1 Falcons visit No. 12 Franklin Pierce University in a conference matchup. Franklin Pierce (6-0, 5-0 NE-10) moved up one spot from last week's rankings.
Senior Jewel White, who currently leads the Northeast-10 in both points (22.7) and rebounds (14.0) rebounds per game, has led the way for the Ravens, while fellow senior Marielle Giroud is averaging 14.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.
Assumption College (8-0, 6-0 NE-10) also moved up in the latest national poll, jumping three spots to No. 14 in the country. The Greyhounds' most recent victory came Tuesday night at home against The College of Saint Rose, defeating the Golden Knights 63-60.
Senior Kelly Meredith leads the Greyhounds with 19.5 points per game and is also averaging 6.9 rebounds per contest. Junior Sabrina Siciliano has too been a force, averaging 14.5 points and a team-high 8.4 rebounds per game.
Saint Rose (6-2, 4-2 NE-10) also received votes in this week's national poll.
It marks the third straight week that three Northeast-10 institutions have been featured among the top-25 in the country.
The Northeast-10 is an association of 16 NCAA Division II colleges and universities located in New England and New York that is committed to supporting balanced academic and athletic opportunities for more than 5,500 student-athletes. Each year, 4,000 of those student-athletes compete in Conference championships in 23 sports, making the NE-10 the largest DII conference in the country. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the Northeast-10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.
-NE-10-
