BOX SCORE

WALTHAM, Mass. - Bentley University held off a furious second half Southern New Hampshire University rally to post a 72-61 Northeast-10 women's basketball victory Tuesday night at the Dana Center.  The Falcons, who entered the game ranked No. 6 in the East Region, improve to 16-9 and 12-6 in the NE-10, while the Penmen, who are currently ranked No. 10 in the region, saw a three-game win streak snapped and are now 14-9 and 9-9 in the league.

Kristy McLean led Bentley with 22 points, going 6-12 from the floor and 7-8 at the free throw line.  Kim Brennan totaled 19 points on 6-9 shooting, while Colette Josey finished with 12 points and seven rebounds for the Falcons.

Julia Houghtaling (Franconia, NH) led Southern New Hampshire with 15 points, going 7-8 at the free throw line.  Stephanie Houghton (Manchester, NH) and Alyssa Whitney (Somerville, MA) recorded 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Penmen, while Megan Shay (Candor, NY) and Ashara Carrington (Marblehead, MA) each added seven points.

The Penmen held a 14-10 lead with just under 11 minutes to play in the first half following a pair of free throws by Houghton.  Bentley then scored 13 unanswered points, and a basket by Brennan 6:09 before intermission gave the Falcons a 23-14 lead.  The hosts held Southern New Hampshire without a field goal for the final 5:52 of the first half and opened up a 39-18 halftime lead.

SNHU outscored Bentley 16-8 in the first six minutes of the second half and a jumper by Houghton at the 14:41 mark made it a 47-34 game.  The Falcons scored the next five points to push the lead back to 18, but a 7-0 Penmen burst capped by a layup by Carrington with 11:56 left made it 52-41.  A three-pointer by Shay with just under 11 minutes left made it 54-44.

The Penmen whittled the lead down to five, 60-55, with 3:53 to play as a layup by Brooke Lefort (Cumberland, RI) capped a 9-1 run by the visitors.  Southern New Hampshire got the lead down to four, 64-60, with 1:16 left on a pair of free throws by Houghton, but got no closer as Bentley sealed the win by going 8-8 at the free throw line in the final 71 seconds.

Southern New Hampshire outrebounded Bentley 36-31, including a 10-4 edge on the offensive glass, but sent the Falcons to the free throw line 28 times, where they were 23-28.  The Penmen were 16-21 at the charity stripe.

SNHU returns to action Saturday when it hosts American International College in a 1:30 contest at the SNHU Fieldhouse.  That game will be SNHU's WBCA "Pink Zone" game to promote breast cancer awareness, with all spectators wearing pink admitted for free.