WORCESTER, Mass. – After erupting for 28 points in the third quarter, the Bentley University women's basketball team was held scoreless for more than nine minutes in the fourth and fell to Assumption University, 68-62, in Northeast-10 Conference action Wednesday night at the Laska Gymnasium.

The loss dropped Bentley out of a first-place tie in the conference's Northeast Division with the Falcons slipping to 14-7 overall and 12-5 conference. Assumption, following its best shooting night of the season (.535), improved to 11-12 overall and 8-10 NE10.

Bentley, which had an 18-2 run in the third quarter, was in front 60-53 after junior guard Ella Thompson (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS) knocked down a three from the left wing 36 seconds into the fourth. That proved to be the Falcons' final point until a Thompson second-chance basket with 6.2 seconds left, a dry spell of 9:18.

In between the two baskets, Assumption ran off 15 straight points and the Falcons were 0-for-12 with seven turnovers.

After falling behind by nine twice in the opening couple minutes of the third quarter, Bentley took charge with an 18-2 run over a span of 4:21. The surge including two three-pointers from senior guard Kari Brekke (Appleton, Wis./Appleton North HS) and four points apiece from sophomore guards Maggie Whitmore (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS) and Janessa Gonzalez (Meriden, Conn./St. Paul Catholic HS).

That run made it a seven-point Bentley lead, 51-44. After the Greyhounds closed to within one, the Falcons closed the quarter with a 6-2 spurt to make it 57-52, the last two coming on a buzzer-beating runner by Thompson.

Bentley was down four at the half, 33-29, after the Hounds shot 70 percent and scored 20 points in the second quarter. Freshman guard Marina Callahan (Burlington) sparked the home team in the first half, scoring 10 points off the bench. For Bentley, both freshman Amanda Kabantu (Portland, Maine/Portland HS) and graduate forward Autumn Ceppi (Bedford/Dana Hall School) tallied seven points in the half.

Thompson led Bentley with 14 points, one more than both Whitmore and Brekke. Ceppi followed with nine, along with a team-best six rebounds.

Senior guard Lauren Hammersley (Garden City, N.Y.) led Assumption with 21 points off the bench, a performance that included six of nine from the floor and four of six from three. Junior forward Monica Spain (Braintree) scored 13, Callahan finished with 12 and senior guard Ja'Lyn Armstrong (Baltimore, Md.) had 10 as a non-starter. In total, the Greyhound bench accounted for 51 of the team's 68 points.

In addition to outshooting the Falcons and getting to the line 24 times to Bentley's 15,  Assumption had the rebound advantage, 32-27. The Hounds turned it over 24 times, but those resulted in only 19 Bentley points.

Bentley's final road game of the regular season is Saturday at Franklin Pierce.