After losing its conference-opening game to Binghamton on a buzzer-beating putback by freshman guard Rebecca Carmody on January 9, the UNH women’s basketball team recorded six more losses and just one victory to complete its first half of America East (AE) play. The Wildcats’ narrow loss to BU (10-13, 5-5 AE) in a contest which they led with as few as seven seconds remaining certainly served as motivation on Saturday afternoon as UNH (8-14, 2-7 AE) capitalized on an offensive outburst from freshman forward Ashley Storey while showcasing an impressive defense to defeat Binghamton, 64-49.
Neither team gained a clear advantage in the first quarter, as both the Bearcats and Wildcats traded possession and scoring opportunities, with the latter going up 17-15 at the end of the quarter. The UNH offense broke through Binghamton’s 2-3 zone defense in the second quarter to outscore the Bearcats, 16-7. Integral to the Wildcats’ scoring streak was Storey, who netted 12 points in the first half and a career-high 22 points by the time the final buzzer had sounded. Storey, whose previous scoring high was nine points, served as the spark-plug for the UNH offense, shooting 83 percent from the field and sinking both of her free throws.
Binghamton had no answer for UNH’s first-half offensive onslaught as the Wildcats executed an effective man-to-man defense. At the half, BU was down, 33-22, and sophomore guard Imani Watkins, who paces the Bearcats with 16.1 points per contest, was held to just four points. Watkins, who regularly plays entire games, was on the court for a season-low 33 minutes. BU head coach Linda Cimino attributed her decision to try an offense sans Watkins to UNH’s stellar defense.
“We just had a better flow with [Watkins] on the bench today,” she said. “Their whole scouting report was about Imani [Watkins] and Alyssa [James], so sometimes you’ve just got to change things up.”
Despite the Bearcats’ efforts, UNH continued to control the game after the half. With 5:32 remaining in the third quarter, BU came within eight, 39-31, before the Wildcats responded by going on a 9-4 run to give themselves a 13-point lead at the end of the quarter.
“We turned the ball over too many times; we turned the ball over in the backcourt,” Cimino said. “We’ve got to make sure that we’re aggressive on the rebounds and we don’t let people rip the ball out of our hands.”
The impressive UNH defense also successfully stifled BU senior guard Kim Albrecht, swarming her with guards any time she received the ball beyond the arc. The Wildcats’ strategy proved effective, as Albrecht hit just two of seven 3-pointers and netted nine points. The only aspect of the BU offense which UNH couldn’t reign in was the production of sophomore forward Alyssa James, who recorded 16 points, 9 rebounds and two assists.
UNH held onto its double-digit lead for the remainder of the game, scoring seven of the final 11 points to ensure its 64-49 victory.
The Binghamton defense has rarely faltered this season, but when it has, it has been due to weak transition defense and committing too many turnovers, both aspects in which the Bearcats struggled against UNH. BU turned the ball over 16 times and struggled to hold off the Wildcats in transition.
Cimino, however, credits UNH’s offensive performance just as much as Binghamton’s shortcomings on defense for the outcome of the game.
“You’ve got to give New Hampshire all the credit,” she said. “Those girls came out to win this game. There was no way they were playing today without winning and their offensive effort was off the charts.”
Binghamton suffered a narrow loss to AE-leading Albany on Monday night. Despite heading into halftime with a 29-24 advantage, the Bearcats could not stifle the Albany offense and fell, 64-58, marking the closest conference game that the Great Danes have played all season. Sophomore guard Imani Watkins and senior guard Kim Albrecht lead BU with 22 and 21 points, respectively. See bupipedream.com/basketball for complete coverage.