RINDGE, N.H. – Graduate forward Maggie Whitmore (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS) scored 20 points and senior forward Kylie DuCharme (Wilmington, Mass./Wilmington HS) had her fourth double-double as Bentley University, the fourth-ranked team in Division II, won its 12^th straight, 64-44 over Franklin Pierce University in Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball Tuesday night at the Fieldhouse.
 
It was the fifth straight start-to-finish win for Bentley, which has not trailed in a game since Dec. 21. The conference leaders improved to 16-1 overall and 8-1 NE10, good for a one-game lead over Southern Connecticut State.
 
As has become the norm, Bentley started fast, this time with a 7-0 burst to start the game. The run included a lay-up by Whitmore, a three-ball from junior guard Cassidy Yeomans (Marion, Mass./Tabor Academy) and two free throws from DuCharme.
 
Later in the first, the Falcons ran off 10 in a row to go up 18-4 with 1:46 on the clock. Whitmore, who outscored the Ravens over the first 14 minutes, had five of the ten and graduate guard Brooke Obar (North Yarmouth, Maine/Greely HS) dropped in a three-ball.
 
Neither team could get much going offensively in the second quarter with each squad scoring eight points.
 
Six-four grad student Colette Mulderig (Scranton, Pa.) carried Franklin Pierce in the first half as she scored 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Her teammates, on the other hand, totaled two points on 1-of-17 from the field.
 
Bentley opened the third with a barrage of threes to double up the Ravens, 42-21, just pass the midpoint. Three-balls were buried by Whitmore, senior guard Amanda Kabantu (Portland, Maine/Portland HS), DuCharme and Kabantu again.
 
Franklin Pierce closed to within 15 a couple times and the Falcon advantage peaked at 23 points with 4:31 left in the fourth.
 
Franklin Pierce (5-10, 2-7 NE10) actually had four more two-point field goals than the Falcons, but coach C White's squad had significant advantages from the land of three (9-3) and the charity stripe (15-6).
 
Bentley was a plus-15 on the boards, 40-25, and had a 13-8 edge in second-chance points.
 
Following Whitmore and DuCharme in the scoring column were Kamantu, with nine and seven, respectively.
 
Mulderig finished with 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting.
 
Bentley will be home for its next two games, beginning Saturday against Saint Anselm College.