ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. – Graduate forward and tri-captain Maggie Whitmore (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS) scored a season-high 22 and the Bentley University Falcons used a game-closing 14-3 run to earn a 66-57 win at Molloy University in non-conference women's basketball Wednesday at the Bob Houlihan Gymnasium.
 
Bentley, which moved to number five in this week's WBCA Division II coaches poll, improved to 8-1 and extended its winning streak to four games. Molloy, which had won three straight, dropped to 5-4.
 
Four of the game's nine lead changes came in the final stanza, which started with the score even at 48 apiece after a strong third by Molloy.
 
After two free throws by Lion junior forward Colleen McCullagh (New Hyde Park, N.Y.) put Molloy up 54-52 with 6:08 to play, the Bentley defense blanked the home team for the next 4:59.
 
Meanwhile, the Falcons scored ten unanswered, a run that began with a game-tying inside basket from junior post Ciara Norman (Roebling, N.J./Life Center Academy).
 
Whitmore followed with a reverse lay-up off a nice feed from classmate Brooke Obar (North Yarmouth, Maine/Greely HS) and  Bentley was back in front, this time for good at 56-54.
 
Senior guard Amanda Kabantu (Portland, Maine/Portland HS) scored the next three by sinking one of two at the line and then taking the ball to the basket for a lay-up. Kylie DuCharme (Wilmington/Wilmington HS) made it 61-54 with two free throws and Norman added another from the stripe for an eight-point advantage.
 
After Molloy ended the nearly five-minute drought, Whitmore locked down the win by hitting four of six free throws and grabbing two rebounds in the final 30 seconds.
 
The first quarter ended at 19-19 after a 17-5 Falcon run off set a 7-0 start by Molloy and a 7-2 close to the stanza.
 
Six straight points midway through the second, including four by Obar, put Bentley up a half dozen, and the Falcons took a 37-32 lead into the half.
 
Whitmore made 8 of 18 shots overall, sank two from deep and had five rebounds and two assists.
 
Sophomore guard Niya Morgen (Swampscott/St. Mary's HS) drained three of six from deep and finished with 12 points off the bench, and Bentley received nine apiece from DuCharme and Norman. Kabantu and Obar each helped out with seven.,
 
Bentley finished with a plus-14 rebound advantage with DuCharme (15) and Kabantu (11) each exceeding their career-best total on the boards by one.
 
Four double figure scorers for Molloy included 15 from junior guard Rosa Rizzitelli (Derby, Conn.), who had the game's first seven for the Lions.
 
Bentley outshot the Lions 38-36 percent and limited Molloy to three buckets in 16 attempts in the fourth. Coach C White's team also had the advantage in assists (20-13), paint points (34-26), second chance points (13-4), fast break points (12-3) and bench points (21-14).
 
The Falcons will remain on the road for a Saturday matinee at Southern Connecticut in a battle of once-beaten teams.