When and Where: February 7, 2024 –  Waltham, Mass. (Dana Center)
Score:  Southern New Hampshire University 72, #5/8 Bentley University 71
Records: SNHU 15-5 (13-3 NE10), Bentley 19-3 (14-2 NE10)

SNHU took its first and only lead of the game on a lay-up by graduate student Adriana Timberlake (Braintree, Mass.) with 2.2 seconds to play, and the Penmen upset #5/8 Bentley University 72-71 Wednesday night in Waltham, Mass.  Timberlake scored a career-high 30 points.

STANDOUT PERFORMERS

• Timberlake – 30 points (10-21 FG, 1-7 3-FG, 9-13 FT), 2 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals
• Senior Jess Knight (Hanover, Mass.) – 14 points (6-11 FG, 2-2 FT), 9 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block
• Freshman Abby Wager (Mansfield, Mass.) – 13 points (4-7 FG, 2-5 3-FG, 3-3 FT), 4 rebounds, 1 assist
• Sophomore Meghan Gordon (Attleboro, Mass.) – 6 points (3-3 FG), 6 rebounds, 2 blocks

KEY MOMENTS

• Bentley led by as many as 11 points, and led 20-12 at the end of the first quarter with Kylie DuCharme hitting four field goals (8 points) and the Falcons hitting 9-of-21, but just 1-of-7 three-pointers.
• Timberlake made three of SNHU's five goals in the first quarter.
• The Penmen continued to chip away, and a three-point field goal by graduate student Macy Spinks (Luton, U.K.) with 2:09 left in the half made it 30-27.  The Falcons led 37-31 at halftime having outscored the Penmen 22-12 in the paint.
• SNHU pulled within two points, outscoring Bentley 19-15 in the third quarter.  A layup by Knight with 34 seconds left in the quarter made it 52-50 turning for home.
• With 3:25 to play, Timberlake hit the front end of two free throws, and Knight put back a rebound of the second one to tie the game for the first time at 63-63.
• A field goal from Knight and a pair of free throws made it 71-70 Bentley with 41 seconds left.
• A missed Bentley shot and a rebound by Spinks gave Head Coach Karen Pinkos a chance to diagram the final play for Timberlake.
• Knight stole the Falcons' final attempt to score in the closing seconds.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• SNHU finished the game 27-53 (50.9 %) while Bentley was 25-65 (38.5 %)
• The Penmen hit 4-of-16 (25.0%) three-pointers while the Falcons were 6-18 (33.3 %)
• The Penmen were 14-18 (77.8%) from the line - Bentley was 15-17 (88.2%)
• SNHU had a 36-32 rebounding advantage for the game.
• The Penmen had 16 turnovers while Bentley had eight.
• Bentley finished wtih a 34-32 advantage on points in the paint.

NOTES

• The Falcons, ranked 5th in this week's D2CSC poll and 8th in the WBCA Coaches Poll, were giving up an average of 51.9 points per game, 4th in the nation.   They had won 11 consecutive games.
• Bentley leads the all-time series with SNHU 48-9.  The Falcons had won four straight from SNHU. 
• The Penmen have split their last eight meetings with Bentley in Waltham.
• SNHU is now 58-20 (.744) since the start of the 2021-22 season including 31-10 (.756) away from the Stan Spirou Field House.
• Timberlake, with 1,491 career points, sits in third place on the program's all-time scoring list.  She leads the Northeast-10 in scoring at 18.6 points per game.
• Timberlake is the first Penmen to score 30 points in a game since Karlee Ziliak recorded 31 against Saint Anselm on 2/8/22.
• The Penmen (13-3) are in a tie for second place in the NE10 with Assumption University, trailing only first-place Bentley University (14-2).

WHAT'S NEXT

• The Penmen will be home this Saturday, Feb. 10 (1:30 p.m.) when it plays host to Adelphi University.   

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