UPDATED: Easton's Battista's Bentley Women's Basketball Team Loses in D-2 Tournament

UPDATE: Lauren Battista had 10 points and five rebounds as the Bentley University women's basketball team lost to 33-1 Ashland, 77-62, Tuesday in the NCAA Division 2 semifinals in San Antonio, TX. Bentley finished the season with a 31-4 mark.

(PRESS RELEASE FROM BENTLEY UNIVERSITY)

SAN ANTONIO, Texas. – Bentley University sophomore forward and former Oliver Ames standout  Lauren Battista , who has led the Falcons into the NCAA Division II Elite Eight, has been named to the 2012 State Farm Division II Coaches All-America team by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA). The announcement was made Tuesday at the Elite Eight Banquet at the Buckhorn Saloon and Museum.

Bentley came from 19 down to beat No. 1 ranked Wayne State University, 72-67, Tuesday in San Antonio to advance to the national semifinals. Battista led all scorers with 18 points. Tonight, they will play Ashland University in the semifinals at 6 p.m. central time. The game will be shown on the CBS Network.

A total of 10 players received All-America recognition from the WBCA with Battista one of only two sophomores on the team. Battista is Bentley's first WBCA All-America since Becky Davison in 2004 and the first Falcon sophomore to earn the prestigious honor since Kim Penwell 21 years ago.

"What an achievement, and what tremendous recognition for everything Lauren has done this season," said coach Barbara Stevens, the sixth winningest coach in women's basketball history. "Every game we've counted on her, and Lauren has never disappointed. I'm happy the rest of the country has recognized what we've been seeing all season."

Battista entered the Elite Eight with averages of 16.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.3 steals. Currently only two points away from 1,000 for her career, she shot 53 percent from the field this season and 82 percent from the line while attempting about 5.4 free throws a game.

All-America is the latest in a long list of accolades that Battista has earned this season. She was previously cited as the Northeast-10 Player of the Year, the Daktronics Division II East Region Player of the Year, the Most Outstanding Player in both the Northeast-10 playoffs and the NCAA Division II East Regional, and a Capital One NCAA Division II second-team Academic All-America®.

In addition to being one of only two sophomores to earn All-America accolades, Battista was one of only two Division II women's basketball players in the country to be named both an All-America and an Academic All-America, an honor she shared with Hanna Johansson of Alaska-Anchorage.

"I am so pleased and so proud of what Lauren has accomplished," praised Stevens. "It couldn't have gone to a more deserving person."