MANCHESTER, N.H. – Lauren Battista led five Bentley University players in double figures with 16 points as the top-ranked Falcons downed Southern New Hampshire University 95-55 in Northeast-10 women's basketball Wednesday night at the SNHU Fieldhouse.  The Falcons remained unbeaten and improved to 24-0 and 19-0 in the NE-10, while the Penmen are now 7-17 and 5-14 in the league.

Battista finished 8-13 from the floor and also grabbed eight rebounds.  Jen Gemma totaled 14 points and eight rebounds off the bench, while Courtney Finn was 3-4 behind the arc and added 13 points, eight rebounds and six assists.  Christiana Bakolas scored all 12 of her points in the first half, knocking down both of her three point attempts, while Kelsey Mattice finished with 12 points off the bench.

SNHU was led by junior Brooke Springfield's (Jaffrey, N.H.) 11 points as she went 5-9 from the floor.  Sara Ryan (Quincy, Mass.) tallied nine points and four assists, while Kaylea Griffin (Green Springs, Ohio) and Emily O'Callaghan (Cork, Ireland) each finished with eight points, with O'Callaghan going 2-3 behind the arc and also dishing out four assists.

Bentley never trailed and used a 15-6 spurt capped by a pair of free throws by Gemma with nine minutes to go in the first frame to open up a 31-18 advantage.  Southern New Hampshire chipped away and a Rocha basket with 3:43 to go cut the Falcon advantage to nine, 38-29.  The guests closed the half by scoring seven of the final nine points to build a 45-31 halftime lead.

A 10-2 Bentley spurt to open the second half capped by a Battista basket four minutes into the second half gave the Falcons a 55-33 lead.  The guests maintained at least a 20-point cushion the rest of the way.

The Falcons shot 60% over the final 20 minutes and 56.7% for the game and were 10-16 (62.5%) behind the arc.  The Penmen shot 39.1% for the game and connected on five of their three-point attempts.  Bentley took 22 more trips to the free throw line, going 17-27 while SNHU was 0-5, and the guests held a 21-11 lead in offensive rebounds and a 52-20 rebounding advantage on the evening.

Southern New Hampshire travels to Saint Michael's College on Saturday for a 1:30 contest, before closing out the season on Tuesday, February 25, when the Penmen play host to Assumption College for Senior Night.  The game against the Greyhounds is slated for a 5:30 tip.

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