WALTHAM, Mass. – It's no secret that the Bentley women's basketball team has high expectations for the 2026-27 season. The Falcons are not only favored by Northeast 10 coaches to win the conference, but they're also ranked No. 11 in the country by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.

Bentley begins to prove those expectations – and then some – when it opens the season by hosting Mercy Monday, Nov. 9, at 5:30 p.m.

Senior guard Niya Morgen was the team's leading scorer last year by averaging 14.2 points per game. She was named to the All-NE10 First Team, earned All-Region honors, and was tabbed an All-America Honorable Mention by the WBCA.

Morgen has been a Bentley staple ever since her freshman season. Back during the 2023-24 season, she played 31 of 33 games while averaging just over 20 minutes per game. It took Morgen only three years to reach 1,000 points for her career. She achieved the mark during the Falcons' NCAA East Regional Semifinal game against Daemen.

The Falcons also return their second-leading scorer from a year ago, senior Kayana Armbrister. She averaged 10.5 points per game on her way to earning All-NE10 Second Team. Armbrister, a transfer NCAA DI Florida Atlantic, was also the team's second-leading rebounder last year (5.9).

Junior Brennan Doran started 26 of her 28 games last year, but things really started to click for her late in the season. Through the final 10 games of 2025-26, Doran averaged 12.0 points and 5.1 rebounds.

Another post player the Falcons will lean on a lot this year is graduate student Mikela Cooper. Although Cooper averaged 17.0 minutes per game last year, her physicality on the boards was hard to miss. Notably, she totaled 11 rebounds in Bentley's NCAA East Regional first round win over Mercy. On a per 30-minute basis last season, Cooper averaged 7.8 rebounds.

For the first time in four years, Bentley will have a new floor general in the everyday starting lineup. The leading candidate is sophomore Ava Orlando. Cassidy Yeomans '26 had been the Falcons' regular starting point guard since the 2023-24 season. Orlando quickly showed off her shooting touch as a freshman last year. In just her second career collegiate game, Orlando shot 5-for-6 from 3-point range against Georgian Court. She was just one miss away from setting the school record for most 3-point buckets without a miss.

Fellow sophomore Cherish Bryant is menacing to opponents in all aspects of the game. More often than not, Bryant is the quickest and fastest player on the court. As a freshman, she totaled multiple steals in seven games. On the offensive end, her season-high in scoring was 14 points – hitting the mark three times. She scored 14 points in two postseason games. Bryant also plays selflessly, as demonstrated by games in which she dished out five assists against Georgian Court and seven assists against Franklin Pierce.

Bryant is positioned to be the first player off the bench for Bentley this season, but head coach C White expects junior Annie Kiernan and senior Norah Salujah to make significant contributions as part of the rotation among wings and posts.

"We have so much potential, but we're not there yet," said Bentley head coach C White, who was named the NE10 Coach of the Year in both 2024-25 and 2025-26. "Our practices have been fantastic in recent days, but there's still a long way to go."

Two of the best teams in the country clash when Bentley takes on No. 10 Holy Family in Philadelphia, Nov. 22. The Falcons and Tigers went head-to-head in the 2025 NCAA East Regional Championship, which Bentley won by a score of 72-63. Holy Family further cemented its position in the region by winning 30 games last year.

The Falcons' first conference game of 2026-27 is Dec. 2 at home against Southern New Hampshire.

Bentley's Waltham Weekend game is Jan. 16 against Assumption. The Lace 'Em Up for Pediatric Cancer game is Jan. 20 against Pace, and the Morgan's Message game is Jan. 26 against Saint Michael's. The Alumni & Think Pink game is Feb. 6 against Franklin Pierce, and the Black History Month game is Feb. 9 against American International. Bentley celebrates its seniors Feb. 20 before tipping off against Adelphi.