NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The triumvirate of grad student Maggie Whitmore (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS) and seniors Kylie DuCharme (Wilmington, Mass./Wilmington HS) and Amanda Kabantu (Portland, Maine/Portland HS) combined for 47 points on 18-of-24 shooting as Bentley University shot down Southern Connecticut State, 78-59, in Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball Saturday afternoon at the Moore Fieldhouse.
               
Kabantu and DuCharme each scored 16 points, with Kabantu's scoring output a season-best, and Whitmore followed with 15 in the first meeting of the two programs since the 2024 NE10 championship game, won by the Falcons back in March, 64-49.
               
Bentley, the number five team in the latest WBCA Division II coaches poll, extended its winning streak to five and improved to 9-1 overall, including 3-1 NE10. Southern, which was held 21 points below its season scoring norm, dropped to 7-2 overall and 3-2 conference.
               
Bentley posted a strong first quarter, outscoring the Owls 24-13 while shooting 71 percent overall and making four of six from downtown. Five different Falcons scored with Whitmore and Kabantu lead the way with seven apiece.
               
The opening stanza included an early 12-0 run by the visitors. Whitmore scored five, Kabantu had a pair of lay-ups and junior guard Cassidy Yeomans (Marion, Mass./Tabor Academy) drained a triple from the left side.
               
Coach C White's Falcons had another impressive run in the second, which ended with Bentley up 17, 45-28, after leading by as many as 22. There was a 16-2 spurt over a span of less than three-and-a-half minutes that featured four three-pointers. Connecting from deep were sophomore guard Niya Morgen (Swampscott, Mass./St. Mary's HS) twice, DuCharme and Yeomans.
               
All eight Falcons who played more than two minutes in the first half scored with Morgen leading the way with nine, all via the long ball. DuCharme provided eight points and three rebounds, and both Whitmore and Kabantu pitched in with seven.
               
Bentley remained comfortably in front throughout the second half with the Owls never getting closer than 13, with all three of those occasions coming after the Falcons were up 20 with under seven minutes left.
               
Kabantu was six-of-nine overall with two treys, and DuCharme made five of seven. She also had eight rebounds. Whitmore, who made  seven of eight shots, complemented her 15 points with six rebounds, three steals and a couple assists.
               
Morgen and Yeomans followed on the scoring list with nine and eight points, respectively. Yeomans also had six of Bentley's 19 assists in the victory.
               
Bentley shot a season-best .574 overall and made 10 of 18 from downtown. The Falcons were also a plus-ten on the boards and finished with a 19-6 advantage in bench points.
               
Bentley's next game is Dec. 20 at Holy Family University.