WORCESTER, Mass. – The Bentley University Falcons, the fourth-ranked team in Division II, scored the first 16 points of the game and went the distance for their 11^th straight win, 68-40 over Assumption University in Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball Saturday afternoon at Laska Gymnasium.
 
It was a balanced attack for the Falcons with sophomore guard Niya Morgen (Swampscott/St. Mary's HS) scoring a game-high 14 off the bench, graduate forward Maggie Whitmore (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS) following with 13 and senior guard Amanda Kabantu (Portland, Maine/Portland HS) adding a dozen.
 
Bentley, which has now led from the opening bucket in four straight games, improved to 15-1 overall and 7-1 NE10, good for a one-game lead over Southern Connecticut State.
 
Bentley's 16-0 start began with a trio of three-pointers in the first 200 seconds.  Whitmore connected from the right side 15 second into the game, Kabantu hit one from the right wing with 9:07 on the clock and junior guard Cassidy Yeomans (Marion/Tabor Academy) made it 11-0 with a wing three with 6:40 left in the opening stanza.
 
The fast start continued with a driving lay-up by junior forward Ciara Norman (Roebling, N.J./Life Center Academy) and a long ball from the right side by Whitmore.
 
Assumption finally cracked the scoreboard with 1:37 left in the first, on its 16^th possession of the game.
 
It was 20-3 at the quarter break, with Whitmore (8) and Kabantu (7) combining for 15 of the Falcon points. The first-half advantage peaked at 19 twice early in the second, including 24-5 after a Whitmore mid-ranger.
 
The Falcon offense struggled in the second, only eight points on 4-of-16 shooting, and the halftime tally was 28-16. Whitmore led the visitors with ten points, the ninth straight game she's hit double digits.
 
After the Greyhounds cut the Falcon advantage to six, Bentley opened the game up of reach with a 22-7 surge over the final 7:46 of the third making it 50-29. Norman had six and senior forward Kylie DuCharme (Wilmington/Wilmington HS) scored five of her seven during the run.
 
The Falcon lead hit 31 twice in the fourth, the first time on a three-point play by Kabantu with 4:39 remaining.
 
Morgen, the third most accurate three-point shooter in Division II, made half of her four attempts from deep and was six of 11 overall. Whitmore sank three of five long balls and also had five rebounds and four assists in 30 turnover-free minutes.
 
Kabantu's day included five rebounds and five free throws in as many attempts, and Yeomans finished with 10 points and three steals. Norman provided nine points and eight boards in 15:40 off the bench.
 
Bentley shot 42 percent overall, limited the Greyhounds to 36 percent and was on target on eight of 14 three-pointers. The Falcons committed only 11 turnovers, one less than Assumption had by halftime, and finished with advantages of 24-9 in points off turns and 13-4 in second chance points.
 
The next game for the Falcons is Tuesday at Franklin Pierce.