Box Score Junior F Caleigh Crowell scored 22 points as No. 6 Bentley University defeated UMass Lowell, 74-61, Tuesday night in the Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball regular season finale at the Costello Athletic Center.

With the loss, UMass Lowell slipped to 11-16 overall and 9-13 in the Conference. The River Hawks finished the regular season in a tie for ninth place with Stonehill and Saint Michael's, but fall short of qualifying for the NE-10 Tournament by virtue of a tiebreaker.

Bentley, which won its second straight NE-10 regular season title, improved to 24-3 overall and 20-2 in the Conference.

Junior G Bianca Simmons (Middletown, Conn.) led UMass Lowell with 19 points and three assists while sophomore G Danielle DePierro (Tewksbury, Mass.) added 13 points. Senior F Sha'Nay Bushner (Akron, Ohio), UMass Lowell's lone senior who was honored before tipoff, chipped in 10 points, 10 rebounds, four steals and three assists.

“I wish I got to coach Sha'Nay for all of her years,” said head coach Sarah Behn. “I love her athleticism, her fight. She does a little bit of everything out there. She does everything for us. She is a real talented player who we're going to miss.”

Crowell shot 8 for 13 from the floor and grabbed five rebounds while junior G Kelsey Roberson came off the bench with 13 points and seven assists. Junior G Courtney Finn added 10 points and eight rebounds while sophomore F Lauren Battista compiled 10 points, six assists and six rebounds.

Senior G Katherine Goodwin chipped in 10 points.

“Bentley's defense is very good. It always is,” said Behn. “They push you outside your comfort zone. We had a lot of pressure on us this game. We were just a little tight and their defense is always on.”

Bentley enjoyed advantages from 3-point range (27-18), the free throw line (19-13) and the bench (35-23). Despite the loss, UMass Lowell mounted a 23-9 edge on second chance points, the result of a 22-16 edge on the offensive glass.

The Falcons ended the first half with a 14-2 run and kept the River Hawks at bay by double digits despite a rally late in the second half.

Bentley led by as many as 22 points (60-38) with 6:07 left to play, but UMass Lowell used a 12-3 spurt to close the deficit to 63-50 with 3:14 remaining. DePierro led the run with five points.

The River Hawks got as close as 10 (68-58) with 1:14 left to play, but Bentley meshed six straight free throws – four by Roberson – the rest of the way to seal the win.

“We did shoot well enough to win,” Behn said. “I'm proud of the girls that we didn't let this game turn into a slaughter, that we fought back. We did what we could, so I'm proud of them that they fought hard.

“The last three weeks of the season I think our team played much, much better, played better defense,” Behn added. “We didn't shoot well tonight but we really worked it. That's all we can ask for.”