WALTHAM, Mass. - American International College senior Brianna Bishop (Suffield, Conn.) scored 17 of her game-high 19 points in the second half, but women's basketball fell in the Northeast-10 Championship final at Bentley University Sunday afternoon,

The loss is just the fifth for the Yellow Jackets this season (25-5) and they will most likely receive a bid to play in the NCAA Division II East Regional beginning Friday, Mar. 9 at the overall No. 1 seed in the region.

Both squads went inside the paint early. The Yellow Jackets got two quick buckets from senior Kamika Mason (Long Beach, Calif.) and a put-back lay-in from classmate Sydney Tepley (Racine, Wis.) to take a quick 4-0 lead. The two teams went back-and-forth much of the frame, but Tepley capped the opening 10 minutes with a three at the buzzer from the upper right corner to retake the lead heading into the second stanza, 15-14.

The Falcons scored on three consecutive possessions early in the second, but after a Macchi Smith hoop and harm, the Yellow Jackets held Bentley scoreless for 4:17 of play, but were only able to come away with two Mason freebies.

Not able to put too much on Bentley, the Falcons responded with two straight three's from Smith and Jen Gemma, building their largest lead of the game, 27-20.

AIC senior Ebony Easter (San Antonio, Texas) muscled her way into the lane and found the bottom of the net, while Brianna Bishop (Suffield, Conn.) sent her team into the break with a pair of free throws. AIC trailed at the half, 27-24.

Out of the break and off her best offensive performance of the season against New Haven in the semifinal, Bishop struck for her first field goal of the game on the Jackets first possession, draining a shot from the top of the key. Bishop was a driving force behind the third, scoring 10-of-19 AIC points, while AIC held Bentley to just nine points.

After falling flat in the third, the Falcons found their way in the fourth, usng a healthy dose of Lewis who notched 16 of her 18 points in the second half. Bentley poured on a 16-2 that built a nine-point lead, before Bishop stopped the streak with her third trey of the game. Bishop and Mason converted layups down the stretch, but could not pull closer than five.

Bishop finished with a game-high 19 points, while Mason registered her sixth double-double of the season, chipping in 16 points and hauling in 11 rebounds. Both were named to the NE-10 All-Tournament team.