WALTHAM, Mass. -- Despite a season-high 23 points from junior All-Conference guard Kim Brennan (Locust Valley, N.Y./Locust Valley HS), Bentley University dropped a 70-63 overtime decision to visiting Southern New Hampshire University in Northeast-10 Conference women's basketball Sunday afternoon at the Dana Center.
SNHU, with just its third win in 29 meetings all-time with the Falcons, received a total of 56 points from freshman Sloane Sorrell (Berwick, Maine) and seniors Jenny McDade (Derry, N.H.) and Ashira Carrington (Marblehead). Sorrell had a career-best 19 points, McDade posted a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Carrington added 18, with her seven OT points matching Bentley's total in the extra session.
Bentley, with its second OT loss of the season, fell to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the NE-10. Southern New Hampshire has an identical conference record and improved to 4-3 overall.
The back-and-forth contest (13 lead changes) saw Bentley trailing by five, 52-47, as the regulation clock went under three minutes. Junior forward Elise Caira (Wakefield/Arlington Catholic HS) made one of two free throws and after Caira rebounded a Penmen missed shot, Brennan made it a one-point game when she buried a top-of-the-key three-pointer with 2:02 left.
Ir remained 52-51 Penmen until a McDade lay-up with 43.9 seconds pushed her team's lead to three. Brennan answered with a lay-up, only to see Carrington do the same with 16 seconds on the clock.
Bentley freshman Kelsey Roberson (Arlington/Arlington Catholic HS) missed a potential tying three, but the ball went out of bounds off SNHU, giving the Falcons another opportunity with 6.8 seconds remaining. This time, sophomore Meghan Thomann (Andover/Andover HS) was fouled shooting a three with 5.5 seconds left.
Thomann made all three, her first free throw attempts of the season, to tie the game at 56-all. Southern New Hampshire never got a shot attempt off before the clock hit 0:00, and Bentley was headed to an extra session for the second straight Sunday.
In OT, the two clubs were even at 61 before a three-point play by Carrington with 1:55 left put SNHU in front for good. A Carrington lay-up with 38.4 seconds left made it a five-point game and two free throws apiece from McDade and Carrington secured the victory.
Bentley had a miserable shooting day despite making five of its first eight shots to claim an early 10-4 advantage. From that point on, the Falcons were just 18 of 67 (27 percent), including only two of nine in the extra period. On the other side of the ledger, Southern New Hampshire shot the ball at a 50 percent clip after intermission and finished at .441.
Bentley actually attempted 16 more field goal attempts, due in part to a 15-6 advantage in offensive rebounds and only 11 turnovers, eight fewer than the visitors.
Brennan, whose 23 was the highest output for a Bentley player this season, made 9 of 21 shots overall with three triples, and also had three rebounds and two assists. Caira was the only other Falcon to score in doubles, finishing with 16 points and 13 boards. Sophomore guard Katherine Goodwin (Goffstown, N.H./Governors Academy) added eight points and Thomann had six.
Bentley's final home game until the calendar turns to 2010 will be on Wednesday, a 5:30 contest against UMass-Lowell.
