After Battle in Philadelphia, Bentley Will Host Merrimack Wednesday in Home & NE-10 Opener

WALTHAM, Mass. -- Just 48 hours after falling to Holy Family University in a hard-fought, high-scoring contest between two of the projected top women’s basketball teams in the NCAA Division II East Region, the Bentley University Falcons will be back in the Dana Center Wednesday night.
              
Merrimack College will provide the opposition as the Falcons launch their home and Northeast-10 Conference schedules. Tip-off is slated for 5:30 pm.
              
Both team’s offenses were in midseason form as Bentley, ranked 24th in Division II preseason, and Holy Family, number five in the poll, combined for 176 points in a game that saw 12 lead changes and 11 ties before the Tigers prevailed by eight, 92-84. The Falcons led by as many as nine in the first half and six in the second before Holy Family seized control with a lengthy 21-6 surge.
              
Coach Barbara Stevens received scoring from all 11 players she put on the court, and saw nine of those combine for 23 assists on 32 baskets. Her team shot 49 percent overall, was up over 60 percent at one point in the second half and knocked down nine three-pointers.
              
All five starters scored at least eight points, with junior guard Katherine Goodwin (Goffstown, N.H./Governors Academy) and senior forward Elise Caira (Wakefield/Arlington Catholic HS) leading the way with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Caira also provided nine rebounds, five assists and three steals in a strong all-around game.
              
One of the few Falcons who had a quiet night against Holy Family, 2010 first-team All-Northeast-10 guard Kim Brennan (Locust Valley, N.Y./Locust Valley HS), was anything but quiet the last time that Bentley and Merrimack faced each other. In that one, the Falcons trailed by as many as 18 points in the first half, but erupted for 52 second-half points to prevail 88-77 in the quarterfinals of the Northeast-10 playoffs.
              
Brennan, 13th on Bentley’s all-time scoring list with 1,327 points, led the offense against the Warriors with her 35 points a school record, breaking the mark of 34 that had stood for nearly 20 years. She had 18 points by intermission, added 17 more in the second half, and also finished with six assists, five rebounds and two steals.
              
Merrimack will be playing for the first time since that game when it takes to the court on Wednesday.  The Warriors, 12-17 overall a year ago and picked 10th in the preseason NE-10 coaches poll, return eight of nine players from last year’s team, including junior guard Genn Roy. She led last year’s club with 14.7 ppg.
              
Live stats and video will be available at www.bentleyfalcons.com.