WALTHAM, Mass. – Senior guard Amanda Kabantu (Portland, Maine/Portland HS) scored a career-high 23 points, including a two clutch free throws with six seconds left to give the Falcons their first lead of the day, and junior guard Cassidy Yeomans (Marion/Tabor Academy) came up with steal with 2.5 seconds remaining as Bentley University edged Saint Anselm College, 60-58, in Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball Saturday afternoon on Barbara Stevens Court.
 
Bentley, which never trailed in its first five games this month, was in front for only the final six seconds against the Hawks. The fourth-ranked team in Division II pushed its winning streak to 13, extended its lead in the conference to two games and improved to 17-1 overall, including 9-1 NE10.
 
The Falcons, who trailed by nine with 5:40 to play, were still down 57-52 after Saint Anselm junior guard Tatum Forbes (Pawtucket, R.I.) beat the shot clock buzzer with a turn-around jumper with 1:29 left. Bentley senior forward Kylie DuCharme (Wilmington/Wilmington HS) responded with a lay-up with 1:13 on the clock, came up with a steal ten seconds later and sophomore guard Niya Morgen (Swampscott/St. Mary's HS) scored on a drive with 58.4 seconds remaining to make it a one-point game.
 
It stayed that way until Hawk freshman guard Addisen Sulikowski (Saco, Maine) made one of two free throws with 16.6 left to make it a two-point game.  Forbes was whistled for an intentional foul on the inbound play and Bentley graduate forward Maggie Whitmore (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS) hit the first free throw, again making it a one-point game, but missed the second.
 
The ball went out of bounds, resulting in another possession for coach C White's team. Kabantu was fouled and drained both from the stripe to put the Falcons up one. Saint Anselm took a timeout, Yeomans came up with a steal and made the second of two at the line. A five-second violation was assessed to the Hawks and Bentley was able to run out the clock.
 
Saint Anselm scored the game's first six points and remained in front for virtually the rest of the contest. Bentley ran off seven straight to forge a 39-39 tie with 3:41 left in the third, but the visitors responded by scoring the next five. They maintained the advantage until Kabantu's game-tying and go-ahead free throws in the waning seconds.
 
Kabantu, whose previous best of 22 was set nearly three years ago (Jan. 22, 2022), made nine of 12 shots overall and three of her four attempts from long distance. She also had two steals in the nail-biting win.
 
DuCharme nearly had a double-double with 11 points, nine rebounds and three steals, and Yeomans tallied six.
 
Senior forward Melanie Hoyt (Stamford, N.Y.), the conference's top scorer, led Saint Anselm with 23 points. Most of that came in the first half when she made seven of nine shots for 15.
 
Both teams shot about 43 percent, Bentley had an 8-4 edge in three-pointers and free throws favored Saint Anselm, 13-9 in attempts and 8-6 in makes. The Hawks were a plus-nine on points off turnovers, 17-8, and the Falcons had a similar margin in second chance points, 14-5
 
Bentley is off until next Saturday when it will host second-place Southern Connecticut State.