Women's Basketball

February 6, 2010

Women's Basketball Suffers 75-56 Loss To Bentley


Box score: http://www.smcathletics.com/sports/wbkb/2009-10/stats/wbenstm.htm


COLCHESTER, Vt. - The Saint Michael's College women's basketball team (7-13, 5-12 Northeast-10 Conference) fell behind early and couldn't recover in suffering a 75-56 loss to Bentley University in league action on Saturday at the Ross Sports Center.

For Bentley (16-6, 14-3 NE-10), junior Kim Brennan (Locust Valley, N.Y.) scored a game-high 21 points and added six assists. Senior Colette Josey (Boston, Mass.) added 13 points and seven rebounds, while sophomore Shatasia Kearse (Framingham, Mass.) recorded 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds off the bench. The Falcons, ranked fourth in the NCAA Division II East Regional Rankings, shot 61 percent from the field in the contest (30-of-49) and outrebounded Saint Michael's 39-16 to win for the 10th time in their last 11 contests.

For the Purple Knights, senior Michelle Otey (Southborough, Mass./Algonquin Regional) netted a team-best 16 points, making 7-of-11 shots from the field. Junior Logan Pintka (Schenectady, N.Y./Colonie Central) added 12 points, while senior Alexis Keller (Harrington Park, N.J./Old Tappan) tallied 11 points, four steals and three assists.

Bentley opened the game red-hot from the field, as the Falcons made 10 of their first 11 shots from the floor, and 15-of-23 in the first half (65 percent). The visitors led by 16 points, 32-16, with five minutes left in the opening period, before Saint Michael's scored the next seven points to trim its deficit to 32-23. Bentley, however, closed the half with a pair of 3-pointers, completing a 5-of-6 effort from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes, to restore a double-digit lead at halftime, 38-25.

Saint Michael's made one small run early in the second half, as the Purple Knights scored five straight points to cut its margin to 43-34 following a Keller lay-up with 14:54 to go. That would be the last time that the Purple Knights were within single digits, however, as Bentley then went on a 20-4 run to take a game-high 25 point lead, 63-38, with 9:21 remaining. The Falcons hung on from there despite committing 15 second-half turnovers, as Bentley improved to 50-2 in the all-time series versus Saint Michael's.

Saint Michael's returns to action on Tuesday with a 5:30 p.m. contest at undefeated and top-ranked league rival Franklin Pierce University. Bentley next plays on Tuesday, hosting Saint Anselm College at 5:30 p.m.

##PURPLEKNIGHTS###