PITTSBURGH, Pa. – One of the greatest seasons in the long and successful history of Bentley University women's basketball drew to a close Monday afternoon in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
 
It was a back-and-forth contest, with a dozen lead changes and seven ties before Union University (Tenn.) closed with a 11-2 run over the final five minutes to prevail, 80-66, and snap the Falcons' 29-game winning streak.
 
Bentley, which was seeded second in the Elite Eight and ranked third in the most recent WBCA Division II coaches poll, finished the season at 33-2 overall. Union, the seventh seed and the number nine ranked team, improved to 33-3 with its 19^th consecutive win. The Bulldogs will face Cal State Dominguez Hills in Wednesday's national semifinals.
 
Union's strengths include making three-pointers and forcing turnovers, and that is what they did against the Falcons. They scored 20 points off 16 Bentley turns  and buried a dozen from distance, including a five-of-six effort from deep by senior guard Bethany Dillard (Maumelle, Ark.).
 
Before the strong finish, there was very little separation between the two teams, with the biggest spread being seven points. The game was tied at 18 after one and 35 after two and it was a five-point game after three, with Bentley down 60-55 after giving up 25 in that stanza.
 
Union induced two early turns to jump out to a quick 7-0 burst. Coach C White's Falcons quickly answered with seven of their own, forging the game's first deadlock. Senior guard Amanda Kabantu (Portland, Maine/Portland HS) stuck a three, and junior point guard Cassidy Yeomans (Marion/Tabor Academy) followed with two baskets.
 
That 7-0 surge grew to an 18-11 run, including a fast-break layup by senior forward Kylie DuCharme (Wilmington, Mass./Wilmington HS) to end the first.
 
Bentley was down seven with three-and-a-half remaining in the second but again battled back to draw even by the break. DuCharme scored five of the nine and also had a block during the comeback.
 
Both teams shot very well in the third but the Falcons lost ground despite making six of seven shots in the quarter and seven of ten free throws. Union connected on 9 of 16 and came up with six takeaways.
 
Still a five-point game midway through the fourth, Bentley went cold, missing 11 straight shots before sophomore guard Niya Morgen (Swampscott, Mass./St. Mary's HS) ended the drought on a drive with 1:47 left. By that point, the difference had grown to 12 points.
 
Bentley, which shot 56 percent from the floor in the first 35 minutes, was off the mark on 16 of its final 17 shot attempts.
 
DuCharme posted a double-double, finishing with 16 points and ten rebounds. Whitmore followed with a dozen points, and both Morgen and Yeomans scored 11. Yeomans was on the court for the entire 40 minutes against the full-court Bulldog pressure. Graduate guard Brooke Obar (North Yarmouth, Maine/Greely HS) added five points and five assists, and Kabantu finished with eight points, six rebounds and four assists.
 
Union received 16 points from six-foot senior Macey Lee (Jackson, Tenn.) and 15 from Dillard.
 
The Falcons had the rebound edge, 39-33, but Union had the advantage in three-point shooting (12 of 29 as compared to 7 of 29), points off turns (20-6) and second chance points (11-5).
 
It was the final game in a Falcon uniform for a number of Falcons: DuCharme, Whitmore, Kabantu, Obar and Grace Klonsky (Lynnfield, Mass./Lynnfield HS). Combined, they played 536 games in a Bentley uniform. Amazing careers!