Eric Jackson/Staff Photographer
Close

Winning streaks are tough to earn in the college sports world. To play well from night to night amongst traveling and schoolwork requires great consistency and hard work. Despite a 7-13 record, the Binghamton University women’s basketball team has yet to accomplish this feat.

But tomorrow, Binghamton women’s basketball (7-13, 3-4 America East) will attempt to achieve its first winning streak of the season and level its conference record at 4-4 against the visiting University at Albany Great Danes (7-13, 0-7 AE).

To date, Albany has struggled in conference play, failing to win a game and losing four times by double figures. Over that stretch, the Great Danes lost to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Stony Brook and New Hampshire — three teams the Bearcats beat by double digits in the conference season. Despite Albany’s struggles, however, Binghamton head coach Nicole Scholl wants to make sure her team does not look past their I-88 rivals.

“Albany is a young team this year,” said the second-year coach. “They’re coming in 0-6 so obviously they’ve got nothing to lose and those can be the most dangerous teams to play. We need to take care of the basketball, and rebound.”

Scholl also cited protecting the paint as a significant part of her team’s game plan against Albany. She wants to see her team control this aspect of the game, as well as Albany’s penchant for attacking the rim offensively. The Great Danes feature a balanced attack with four players averaging between 9.1 and 9.6 points per game, and Scholl wants her team to disrupt that by keeping the paint closed off from penetration.

“They have some balanced scoring,” Scholl said of the Great Danes. “They’re primarily a team that wants to get to the hoop and we need to keep them out.”

Binghamton has a strong chance to defeat the Great Danes based on its play since its conference schedule began. Despite being 3-4, three of the losses are to Hartford, Vermont and Boston — the top three teams in the standings. Erica Carter is averaging 15.6 points per game in conference match-ups, while Andrea Holmes has averaged 13.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists against the America East. Viive Rebane, averaging 12.3 points and 7 rebounds per conference contest, has also performed well. Scholl points to her team’s last game against New Hampshire, an 83-59 victory, as a game where her team began to perform the way she hoped at the beginning of the season.

“We’ve been gaining a lot of confidence,” Scholl said. “We’ve been playing well on offense and taking what the defense is giving. I thought we settled in against UNH. We did a good job moving the ball against their zone.”

The Bearcats are set to play Albany tomorrow at the Events Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.