Nov. 16, 2011

Box Score | Video Highlights/Behn Interview

Sophomore F Lauren Battista scored a game-high 17 points as Bentley University defeated UMass Lowell, 74-46, Wednesday night in a Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball clash at the Dana Center.

With the loss, UMass Lowell slipped to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the NE-10 entering next Tuesday's clash at Saint Michael's (5:30). Bentley, the NE-10 preseason favorite, improved to 3-0.

Senior F Sha'nay Bushner (Akron, Ohio) and sophomore G Danielle DePierro (Tewksbury, Mass.) each scored 12 points for UMass Lowell. Bushner also grabbed seven rebounds and dished two assists.

DePierro converted 2 of 4 attempts from 3-point range.

Battista converted 6 of 9 field goals and grabbed four rebounds while senior F Shatasia Kearse added 16 points and four rebounds while shooting 7 of 9 from the floor.

Bentley led 29-17 at the break and shot .625 in the second half (15-24) while the River Hawks struggled to a .355 clip (11-31). Led by Kearse, the Falcons also outscored the UMass Lowell bench, 26-8.

Turnovers were rampant - UMass Lowell with 29 and Bentley with 25 - but it was the Falcons who capitalized by outscoring the River Hawks 26-9 off miscues.

UMass Lowell scored the first five points of the second half - a conventional 3-point play by sophomore Dominique Pagan (Bronx, N.Y.) and free throws by Bushner - to cut the deficit to seven (29-22) early on.

Bentley, however, went on a 25-0 run midway through the half, fueled by 10 points from Kearse, to post a 65-28 cushion with 7:11 left to play.