Box Score WALTHAM, Mass. – The first-team All-Conference frontcourt duo of graduate student Maggie Whitmore (South Portland, Maine/South Portland HS) and senior Kylie DuCharme (Wilmington/Wilmington HS) combined for 36 points and 19 rebounds as Bentley University advanced to the Northeast-10 Conference Women's Basketball Championship game for the 33^rd time with a 75-55 win over Southern Connecticut State Thursday night on Barbara Stevens Court.
 
The victory extended Bentley's winning streaks to 25 overall and 13 in conference championship action. The Falcons, 29-1 overall and number three in the WBCA Division II coaches poll, will look to make it a four-peat as conference championships Sunday afternoon when they host sixth-seeded Assumption University at 1:30 pm.
 
Whitmore, who scored Bentley's first six points in the wire-to-wire win, finished with 20 points, ten rebounds, four assists and two steals. DuCharme added 16 points, nine boards, a steal and a block.
 
The Falcons' first double-digit lead came midway through the second quarter. After the Owls (19-10) closed to within one, Bentley ran off nine unanswered to go up 29-19. Sophomore guard Niya Morgen (Swampscott/St. Mary's HS) hit the first of her four three-pointers, junior forward Ciara Norman (Roebling, N.J./Life Center Academy) scored and third-team All-Conference senior guard Amanda Kabantu (Portland, Maine/Portland HS) followed with a couple of buckets.
 
It was 36-26 at the half with Whitmore and DuCharme combining for 21 points and nine rebounds.
 
Midway through the third, back-to-back threes by Morgen, the Division II leader in three-point accuracy, pushed the Falcon advantage from six to 12, 49-37.
 
Southern was still within reach with 5:45 left in the fourth, 60-51 following a straight away three-pointers by senior guard Delaney Haines (Portland, Maine).
 
Bentley responded by scoring the next seven to lock up the win, 67-51 with 3:28 left in the fourth. Whitmore hit a jumper just inside the elbow, DuCharme scored an inside basket and Morgen made a three-point play the traditional way.
 
That 7-0 spurt grew into a game-ending 15-4 run, with the final 20-point spread the highest of the night.
 
In addition to Whitmore and DuCharme, Morgen and Kabantu scored in doubles for the Falcons. Morgen, six of seven overall and four of five from deep, added 17 off the bench, and Kabantu finished with 14.
 
Haines, with 17 points, was the top scorer for Southern.
 
Bentley outshot the visitors 48-35 percent and had a commanding 38-23 advantage on the boards. Coach C White's team was a plus-11 in points off turnovers, 23-11, and scored 30 in the paint, eight more than the Owls.
 
Assumption earned its trip to the finals with a 54-48 homecourt win over Adelphi. The Greyhounds closed out the game with a 6-0 run to earn their second trip to the finals. The previous one came in 2013 and the Falcons took that one by nine, 68-59.
 
Bentley, which swept Assumption during the regular season, will be looking for its 24^th Northeast-10 championship on Sunday.