Brennan Named NE-10 Freshman of the Year;  All-Conference Honors for McLean                 WALTHAM, Mass. – Bentley point guard Kim Brennan (Locust Valley, N.Y./Locust Valley HS) has been named the Women’s Basketball Freshman of the Year in the Northeast-10 Conference.  The announcement was made today during the conference’s championship game.                Also recognized by the conference was Bentley junior guard Kristy McLean (Staten Island, N.Y./Poly Prep HS), who was named to the All-NE-10 third team.                Brennan, one of two Bentley players to start every game, became the sixth Falcon to earn top rookie honors, the first time Lauren Fuller in 1999.   She has quarterbacked the team to a 19-10 record, a berth in the Northeast-10 semifinals and an anticipated berth in the NCAA Division II Northeast Regional (the field will be announced late Sunday night).                Brennan is third on the club in scoring, averaging 10.1 points overall.  She leads the team in assists (94), free throw percentage (.773) and minutes played (34.3), and has buried 24 three-pointers. Brennan has scored in doubles 15 times, with a high of 23 against nationally-ranked Franklin Pierce on Jan. 8.                When Bentley has experienced success this season, Brennan has usually been a key contributor. In the team’s 19 wins, her scoring average is a team-best 11.6 points and her field goal percentage is .413.                “We're extremely pleased that the Conference coaches recognized Kim as Rookie of the Year,” said Bentley Hall of Fame coach Barbara Stevens. “She was put in a tough situation at the beginning of the year, to lead a team that she was unfamiliar with, within a system that she was equally unfamiliar with.  But she has handled everything with poise and confidence.                “We place a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of our point guards and Kim has been almost unflappable in her response to the pressure she has faced all season long.  Clearly, we would not be where we are without Kim's steady play at the point guard position.”                McLean, in her second year as a starter, has topped the team in scoring most of the season and is currently averaging 11 points and six rebounds a game. She’s second on the club in minutes played, and is the team-leader in three-pointers (47), offensive rebounds (69), blocked shots (16) and steals (66).                McLean, who ranks in the top 15 in the conference in five different statistical categories (with a high of sixth in steals), has been the team’s top scorer in nine games. She has scored in doubles 17 times, grabbed ten-plus rebounds four times, and has one double-double (Dec. 28 at Nova Southeastern).