FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 10, 2013
Courtesy of Bentley Athletics Communications
HIGHLIGHTS | BOX SCORE | CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
WALTHAM, Mass. - Top-seeded Bentley University won its third consecutive Northeast-10 Conference Women's Basketball Championship Sunday afternoon with a 68-59 victory over third-seeded Assumption College.
Bentley, the top-ranked team in the region, is expected to host the NCAA East Regional when the selections are announced later tonight at 10:00 p.m. on NCAA.com. Regional play will get underway with four games on Friday.
Bentley junior Lauren Battista (pictured, below) was named the championship's Most Outstanding Player for the third time in as many years, and also joined teammates juniors Jacqui Brugliera and Christiana Bakolas on the All-Championship Team.
Assumption senior Gabrielle Gibson and junior Jamie Insel were also named to the All-Championship Team.
Battista and Bakolas each scored 17 points, with Bakolas setting a career-high for the second time in three games, and Brugliera came within a rebound of a double-double, finishing with 10 points. Bentley, ranked third nationally in Division II, also received 11 points, all in the second half, from senior guard Kelsey Roberson.
The win, Bentley's 26th straight at home and 19th consecutive postseason home victory, gave the Falcons (28-1) 17 Northeast-10 Championships all-time. Assumption (22-7) was making its first Northeast-10 Championship game appearance in program history.
Coach Barbara Stevens' club exploded out of the gate to start the game, scoring the first 10 points to force an Assumption timeout less than three minutes into the game.
After the Greyhounds pulled within 12-6, Bentley went on another run, this time 8-0, to make it a 20-6 game with 11:43 left on the first-half clock.
Most of the next seven minutes belonged to the visitors, Assumption using a 19-5 run to forge the game's only tie, 25 apiece with 4:56 left. Gibson, who led all scorers with 23 points, connected twice from downtown while scoring a total of 10 during that stretch.
Bentley bounced right back, scoring the next eight points. A Battista layup put the Falcons back in front, Bakolas scored the next four with a layup and two free throws, and junior Tyler Parker Kimball capped the run with a pair from the charity stripe.
Following four points by Assumption, Bakolas added two more free throws with 2.6 seconds left, sending the Falcons into the break up six at 35-29. She finished the opening half with 12 points, seven above her season norm, and a perfect 8-of-8 at the line.
Roberson dropped in three balls from outside the arc and did all her scoring during an eight-minute second-half run of 19-6 that made it a 15-point lead, 54-39, with just under 10 to play.
The Falcon advantage remained in double figures until Gibson knocked down a 17-footer with 2:41 left, bringing the Hounds to within eight, 61-53. Bentley answered with a driving layup by Battista and a Brugliera free throw, but Gibson's fourth of five three-pointers put the lead back at eight with 1:20 to play.
Bentley, which finished an impressive 18-of-22 from the line, locked up the win by making four of its final six free throws in the final 45 seconds.
Bentley overcame 38 percent shooting by limiting the Hounds to 32 percent, including 29 in the first half, and controlling the boards, 47-41. In addition to the nine from Brugliera, Battista and senior Courtney Finn each had seven, and Roberson and Kimball each grabbed five.
Assumption, a probable at-large selection for the NCAA Tournament, committed only 11 turnovers, three less than Bentley, and finished with a 20-8 advantage in points off turnovers.
Gibson moved into second on Assumption's all-time scoring list with her 23 points. Senior Sabrina Siciliano followed with 10, all in the second half, and Insel had 12 rebounds.
The Northeast-10 Conference 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 6,000 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.
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