WALTHAM, Mass. – The first-team All-Conference duo of Ella Thompson (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove HS) and Maggie Whitmore (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS) combined for 24 points, with Whitmore scoring her 1,000^th career, and the Falcon bench provided 22 points as Bentley University moved on in the Northeast-10 Championships with a 66-57 semifinal win over Franklin Pierce University Thursday evening on Barbara Stevens Court.

The top-seeded Falcons, 25-5 overall and ranked 21^st in the latest WBCA Division II coaches poll, will look to make it a three-peat as conference champions Sunday afternoon when they host Southern Connecticut State at 1:30 pm.

Bentley, which trailed for virtually the entire first 25 minutes, closed out the third quarter with a 9-2 run that produced a 46-44 Falcon lead.

The surge began with an unassisted three-ball from the right wing by Thompson and was followed by an inside basket by sophomore post Ciara Norman (Roebling, N.J./Life Center Academy) that evened the game at 42-all, the first time since 2-2.

After a Raven basket, Bentley finished the stanza with a three from the left side by Whitmore and a free throw from freshman guard Niya Morgen (Swampscott/St. Mary's HS), the NE10 Rookie of the Year.

The momentum carried into the fourth with the Falcons scoring 11 of the first 13 points to make it a 20-4 run over a span of seven-and-a-half minutes. The first three minutes of the final quarter saw junior guard Amanda Kabantu (Portland, Maine/Portland HS) drop in a three from the left corner, Whitmore connect on a triple from the left wing and Kabantu hit a three ball from the top of the key.

Six straight points from FPU senior center Colette Mulderig (Scranton, Pa.) brought the Ravens, who had won nine straight, to within four, 59-55, with 1:24 to play. Thompson answered with a straight-away three that bounced up and in, and Bentley secured the victory by making four of six free throws in the final 43.5 seconds.

In the second half, Bentley shot 54.5 percent overall and sank six of nine three-pointers. That was in sharp contrast to the first half when coach C White's squad was only one of seven from outside the arc.

Meanwhile, Franklin Pierce (20-10) went from .480 shooting in the first half to less than 35 percent after intermission. And in the second half, the Ravens missed all eight of their three-point attempts.

Thompson paced the Falcons with 15 points, including 13 in the second half, and also had three rebounds, two assists and a block. Whitmore finished with nine points in the game and pushed her career total of 1,007. Her 1000^th came on a free throw with 3:03 left in the second after Mulderig was assessed a technical.

All nine Falcons to see the floor scored and rebounded with Norman scoring 10 off the bench, junior forward Kylie DuCharme (Wilmington/Wilmington HS) nine, Kabantu seven and sophomore post Julia Elie (Rockland/Rockland HS) six to keep the home team close in the first half.

Senior guard Brooke Obar (North Yarmouth, Maine/Greely HS) and sophomore guard Cassidy Yeomans (Marion/Tabor Academy) were the playmakers for Bentley, with five and four assists, respectively. DuCharme and Whitmore were the team's top rebounders with five apiece.

Mulderig, despite foul trouble, led Franklin Pierce with 18 points, including 10 in the first half, and sophomore guard Kenzie Sirowich (Seymour, Conn.) followed with 14, ten of those coming in the opening quarter.

Bentley finished with the advantage in shooting (46-41 percent), rebounds (30-27) and three-pointers (7-2), and limited FPU's top scorer for the season, All-Conference senior guard Anna Badosa Soler (Girona, Spain), to six points on two-of-nine shooting.

Southern Connecticut, the sixth-seed, advanced with an upset of second-seeded and nationally-ranked Assumption, 60-47.