VALDOSTA, Ga. – Six-foot-two junior center Maya Price (Bury St. Edmonds, England), sophomore guard Lauryn Vieira (Haute-Savoie, France) and sophomore guard Sofia Persson (Arvika, Sweden) combined for 46 of Eckerd College's point total as the Tritons handed Bentley University its first loss of the season, 56-47, Friday afternoon in non-conference women's basketball during the Valdosta State Thanksgiving Classic at The Complex.

Eckerd improved to 2-0 after outscoring the Falcons in the paint, 36-8. Bentley, ranked 16^th in the WBCA Division II coaches poll, entered the game with a perfect 3-0 record.

Bentley, whose only leads of the night came in the first quarter with the last at 11-9, could never get over the hump after falling behind.

After the Tritons used a 6-0 run to go up 21-15, the Falcons drew within one or two points six times, the last at 43-41 on a three-ball from junior guard Ella Thompson (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS) with 6:19 remaining. For Thompson, it was her third basket of the final stanza.

Thompson's three-ball was countered by Price and followed by two free throws from Persson, making it a seven-point differential with five minutes to play.

Bentley freshman guard Kylie Ducharme (Wilmington, Mass./Wilmington HS) banked in a three 13 seconds later, reducing the Eckerd lead to four at 48-44. A Persson lay-in and two free throws from Vieira extended the spread to eight, 52-44, and Bentley got no closer than five the rest of the way.

The Falcons' biggest lead of the game came in the opening quarter. An early 9-0 run, which included a lay-up and a three-ball from junior forward Autumn Ceppi (Bedford, Mass./Dana Hall), made it a 9-4 game just past the midpoint of the first. Eckerd answered with an 11-2 spurt for an 15-11 advantage and never trailed again.

Thompson, five of 12 overall and three of nine from deep, was followed in the scoring column by Ceppi and senior guard Kari Brekke (Appleton, Wis./Appleton North HS), each with nine points. Brekke added five rebounds and four steals and Ceppi finished with four rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Price led Eckerd (2-0) with 18 points, six rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks. Vieira followed with 15 points, three rebounds, three steals, two steals and a block, and Persson complemented her 13 points with a game-high seven rebounds.

Eckerd had the shooting advantage, 47-35 percent and turned 20 Falcon turnovers into 21 points. Bentley struggled from three for much of the game, making only three of 21 in the first three quarters, before hitting four of eight in the fourth. The Falcons also had the rebound edge, 36-29.

The tournament continues Saturday with Bentley facing nationally-ranked Valdosta State at noon.