Congratulations to Winthrop’s Courtney Finn and the Bentley women’s basketball team for winning the Division 2 national championship Friday in Erie, Pennsylvania. Finn was a major contributor to the Falcons’ phenomenal 35-0 season, No. 1- ranking from start to finish, and the university’s first-ever national championship in women’s basketball.
Finn also received the sport’s highest individual honor — All-American — a prestigious title that will precede her name whenever she is introduced at Bentley events in the future. It was fitting that Courtney’s incredible free throw shooting — and her superb 30-point performance in the quarterfinals — ultimately sparked Bentley to the title. Winthrop residents will remember how Courtney would win the Lodge of Elks free throw contest in our town every single year and became one of the top free throw shooters in the country for her age.
Courtney Finn is Winthrop’s all-time leading scorer and she probably could have scored more than 2,000 points if she weren’t an unselfish player who passed the ball so well to teammates during her Winthrop career, a style of play that she continued at Bentley. Courtney is also an excellent role model for Winthrop’s current crop of WHS basketball stars — Niki and Poli Tsiotos, Kristin Siscamanis, and Nina Bartlette. Courtney has an undergraduate degree at Bentley and is continued her studies at the school’s outstanding MBA program.
What a spectacular four years it has been for Courtney Finn, her proud parents, Peter and Marie, her sister Kristen, and twin brother, Paul, and the entire family.
We also want to congratulate Bentley’s superb coach, Barbara Stevens, and the university’s athletic director and Winthrop’s own, Bob DeFelice, whose own athletic greatness and football coaching are legendary in our town.