Bentley Tops Franklin Pierce, 64-54
Bentley Tops Franklin Pierce, 64-54 Falcons enjoy 22-4 scoring difference off turnovers, shoot 54.3% from the field
WALTHAM, Mass. (February 7, 2006) - Franklin Pierce, ranked ninth in the most recent NCAA Division II Northeast regional rankings, dropped consecutive games for just the third time this season after being handed a 64-54 setback to eighth-ranked Bentley College at the Dana Center this evening.
Senior Kate Kelley (Hull, Mass.) led Bentley, which halted its second three-game skid of the season, with a game-high 17 points to go with seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. Junior Lauren Moore (Bristol, N.H.) added ten points as she knocked down all four of her shots from the floor (including two three's), to go with four assists and three steals, while Carolyn Gottstein (Albany, N.Y.), a transfer from Boston College, grabbed a team-high ten rebounds (eight first half) to go with eight points (all first half). Junior Shannon Kirwan (Melrose, Mass.) chipped in eight points, five assists and four boards.
Junior Danielle D'Ettorre (Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario/St. Mary's) shared the team scoring lead for Franklin Pierce with 16 points to go with three rebounds, two blocks and three steals. Senior Heather Jacobs (Stoughton, Mass./Stoughton) also netted 16 points, while sophomore Stephanie Bergeron (Pointe Claire, Quebec/Dawson College) rounded out the Ravens double-digit scorers with ten points.
Senior Maria Clifton (New York, N.Y./Saint Michael's Academy) matched her career-high with ten rebounds (five offensive), while freshman Heather Benton (Valley Springs, Calif./St. Mary's) snared nine caroms (five offensive) as Franklin Pierce out-rebounded its hosts 36-30 for the contest.
A 12-3 Bentley run broke open a four-point lead (50-46) with 9:00 to play into a 13-point cushion (62-49) after an Erica Kirwan (North Kingstown, R.I.) lay-up with 4:09 on the clock. Clifton canned a three-pointer to cut the lead to ten and Bergeron hit a jumper off a drive to trim the lead to eight (62-54) with 1:30 left, but the Ravens could get no closer.
Leading by five at the break (28-23), Bentley opened the second half with a 10-4 stretch to take an 11-point lead (38-27) after a pair of Erica Kirwan free-throws 3:27 in. The Ravens responded with eight-straight points from Jacobs (two three's) to cut their deficit to three (38-35), but Bentley bumped its advantage back up to nine (44-35) after a Kelley jumper with 13:29 to play. Franklin Pierce used seven-straight from D'Ettorre to pull within a pair (44-42) after a drive with 11:25 left when Bentley reeled off its backbreaking run.
Franklin Pierce jumped out to a quick 6-2 lead thanks to a pair of Bergeron three's in the opening 2:48. Bentley used a 14-4 run to turn an 8-6 deficit into a 20-12 lead after a Moore three-pointer with 7:40 to play in the half.
D'Ettorre scored six-straight Franklin Pierce points during a 7-2 run that pulled the Ravens within three (22-19) with 4:53 to go before the break. Gottstein all eight of her points on the night in a three-minute span to help the Falcons push their lead back to seven (28-21) with 2:08 before intermission. The last hoop of the half came from Jacobs to trim the lead to five (28-23) at the break.
Bentley enjoyed a 22-4 scoring advantage off turnovers on the night despite the fact Franklin Pierce turned the ball over just one more time (17-16) than the Falcons. Bentley shot 54.3-percent (25-46) from the field for the contest, including 5-of-8 (62.5%) from three-point range, compared to 32.8% (21-64) for the Ravens from the field, 7-22 (31.8%) from long-distance.
Franklin Pierce (13-10, 10-8 NE-10) returns home on Saturday when it hosts Stonehill College, ranked No. 15 in this week's USA Today/ESPN Division II poll, at 1:30 p.m. Bentley (15-11, 11-7 NE-10) hosts Southern New Hampshire University on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.