WALTHAM, MA – The College of Saint Rose rallied from a nine point deficit with less than seven minutes remaining only to fall short in a 65-63 loss to host Bentley University in a Northeast-10 Conference Tournament semifinal encounter tonight.

Junior guard Elizabeth Buckley capped the Golden Knights (20-10) rally by draining one of her NE-10 Tournament record tying eight 3-pointers that squared everything 63-63 with eight ticks left. However, Saint Rose was whistled for a foul in the backcourt on Bentley's ensuing possession. Sophomore guard Kim Brennan then made the most of the opportunity by canning both free throws on the other end. Saint Rose senior guard Dana Brown managed to get inside the key, but her jumper at the buzzer rolled off the right side to allow the host Falcons to advance.

Buckley went 8-for-11 from the arc, including 5-for-5 in the second half, on her way to a game-high 26 points for Saint Rose. Brown was also in twin-figures with 10 points. Brennan led Bentley (21-10) with 20 points, while senior forward Kristy McLean wound up with 18 points and nine rebounds. Junior forward Colette Josey added 11 points.

On the evening, Saint Rose overcame 33.3 percent (21-for-63) shooting from the floor by canning 43.5 percent (10-for-23) of its chances from the arc, while burying all 11 of its attempts from the foul line. Bentley conversely shot 44.2 percent (23-for-52) from the field, including 50.0 percent (11-for-22) throughout the final 20 minutes, and outscored the Golden Knights 30-10 in the paint.

The Falcons never trailed throughout the final 37 minutes and appeared to have the game well in hand with a 13 point, 53-40, advantage after McLean canned a pair of free throws with 8:36 showing on the clock. It was still an eight point affair with 6:36 left when Brennan struck from downtown for the Falcons.

However, Buckley drilled a pair of free throws and hit a 3-pointer after Bentley came up empty to cut the Saint Rose deficit to four, 56-52, with 4:39 remaining. A minute later, Buckley hit another trifecta to make it a three point affair, 58-55. Two possessions after that, Saint Rose grabbed a pair of offensive rebounds before Brown put back a layup to bring the Golden Knights to within one, 58-57, at the 2:10 mark.

Bentley pushed its lead back to four and then three points in the final minute, but Buckley again responded via a pair of treys within a 43-second span to forge the 63-63 tie. Unfortunately, Brennan drained both vital free throws to allow the Falcons to run their win streak to five games. Meanwhile, Saint Rose fell for the only the third time in its previous 14 games.

In the first half, both clubs had trouble putting numbers on the scoreboard as Bentley grabbed a 23-17 lead at the midway point. The two teams managed only one basket apiece during the next five minutes before sophomore guard Lynsey Timbrouck hit a jumper and freshman guard Ashley Rath buried a 3-pointer to bring Saint Rose to within one, 25-24, with 3:20 to go. The Falcons dug in though and outscored the Golden Knights 4-0 the rest of the way to walk into the locker room with a 29-24 cushion at the break.

Third seed Bentley will now visit top seed Franklin Pierce (23-5) in the league championship game Sunday at 1:00 pm in Rindge, NH. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights, a seventh seed, will spend the weekend awaiting their NCAA Tournament fate. Bids are scheduled to be announced Sunday at 9:00 pm.

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