The Binghamton women’s basketball team (2-4) dropped two games over the last week, getting blown out, 80-50, by Canisius on Wednesday night before mounting an impressive comeback attempt against Big East member Xavier on Saturday afternoon before falling, 64-55.
Despite failing to record a victory, the Bearcats made history as sophomore forward Alyssa James recorded nine blocks in BU’s contest at Xavier, breaking the America East record for blocks in a game.
On Wednesday, BU traveled to Canisius (2-2) to face the Golden Griffins. After trading the lead throughout the first period, the Golden Griffins proved to be too much for the young Bearcats. Binghamton saw a two-point deficit grow into a 26-point one after BU failed to reach double digit scoring in two consecutive periods. Even with a slight offensive revival in the fourth quarter, the Bearcats were unable to create any momentum.
James finished with 17 points and a game-high seven rebounds, while sophomore guard Imani Watkins added 21 points for her second 20-point effort of the season. Watkins and James represented two of only four Bearcats to record a point in the game.
Binghamton head coach Linda Cimino thinks the Bearcats need more players to score in order to find success.
“When we don’t win a game it’s usually because we only have one or two people in double-digit scoring,” Cimino said. “We need to have more people in double-digit scoring to win basketball games.”
Saturday’s matchup versus Big East conference member Xavier seemed to be going down the same path as the Bearcats’ effort three days prior as Binghamton fell to a 21-4 deficit after the first quarter. But, the Bearcats refused to let the game turn into a blowout.
“No matter what the score is we are going to play the same way,” Cimino said.
The Bearcats held their own, slowly piecing their offense together in the second quarter. Going into halftime, Binghamton was headed in the right direction, but a comeback didn’t seem likely as BU was trailing, 34-14.
But Binghamton didn’t roll over in the second half, as the Bearcats pieced together their best half of the season. In the final two quarters, BU consistently forced turnovers, drew fouls and managed to make the game close, outscoring Xavier, 41-30.
“Our offense wasn’t really there, but defensively we did a really good job,” Cimino said. “We pressed them and were able to get them to turn the ball over and create some offense that way. We were really pleased with the way we finished the game, especially by winning the second half. These are the baby steps in the process of rebuilding.”
An absolutely dominant performance by James was the story of the game for the Bearcats, as she was only one block away from recording the second triple-double in Binghamton women’s basketball history. Her ninth block set the Binghamton and America East women’s basketball record for blocks in a single game. The record had previously been held by current BU assistant coach Leah Truncale, who recorded eight blocks in a 2001 game against Morehead State.
It was a historic afternoon for Binghamton basketball, but Cimino believes that there is more where that came from for James, who was no stranger to blocks in her freshman year while at Caldwell College.
“We expect her to get about three blocks a game,” Cimino said. “She defended without fouling, which is important.”
While the Bearcats were unable to record a win against Canisius or Xavier, there were some positives to take from the two competitions. While James continues to be an integral part of Binghamton’s offense and defense, BU still has plenty of work to do before conference play starts in early January.
BU is scheduled to return to action on Thursday against Brown. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at the Paul Bailey Pizzitola Memorial Sports Center in Providence, Rhode Island.