Box Score MANCHESTER, N.H. – Lauren Green totaled 19 points and hit a key three-pointer in the game's final minute as 19th-ranked and defending NCAA Division II national champion Bentley University held off Southern New Hampshire University 62-58 in Northeast-10 women's basketball Tuesday night at the SNHU Fieldhouse. The Falcons snapped an uncharacteristic two-game slide and move to 3-2 (1-2 NE-10), while the Penmen are 2-3 and 0-3 in the league.
Green was 5-8 from three-point land and 7-13 from the field while also grabbing seven rebounds to lead three Falcons in double figures. Macchi Smith scored 13 of her 17 points in the first half, going 4-5 behind the arc, while Jen Gemma posted a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Brooke Springfield (Jaffrey, N.H.) led Southern New Hampshire with a season-high 15 points while also grabbing six rebounds. Catherine Stinson (Lynn, Mass.) finished with nine points, while Victoria Wiseman (Montreal, Quebec) registered eight points and eight rebounds off the bench.
Southern New Hampshire trailed 56-50 following a Gemma layup with 3:24 to go, but a Wiseman layup with 1:48 left and a Sara Ryan (Quincy, Mass.) layup with just over a minute to go cut the lead to two. On Bentley's next possession, Green nailed a three with 37 seconds left to make it a 59-54 game. After an empty Penmen trip, the Falcons went 3-4 at the free throw line the rest of the way to seal the win.
After trailing by six early in the second half, the Penmen scored eight unanswered to take a 38-36 lead with 13:34 left on a Wiseman basket. The lead was short-lived, as Smith nailed a three on the next Falcon possession to put the guests on top for good.
SNHU scored the game's first six points and led much of the first half before Bentley closed the first frame on a 14-5 run capped by a Gemma basket as time expired in the first half to give the guests a 34-30 halftime lead.
Bentley knocked down 11 of its 26 three-point attempts on the evening, while the Penmen were 2-7 from downtown. Southern New Hampshire outrebounded the Falcons 44-40, including 15-11 on the offensive glass, and generated a 38-16 advantage in points in the paint.
Southern New Hampshire heads to a tournament hosted by Eckerd College for its next two games. The Penmen face Saint Leo University Friday at 1:00 pm.
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