The Binghamton women’s basketball team returned home on Thursday to take on the University of New Hampshire after its first conference loss at UMBC last Saturday. Claiming a 50-42 victory, Binghamton became 5-1 in America East play to kick off its season.

“We were really trying to implore the team to get to the free throw line and get to the basket, being in the bonus,” said Binghamton head coach Mary Grimes. “And I think we did a good job of that down the stretch. But overall, we knew New Hampshire was going to be hungry — they came in playing us tough, playing us really, really physical, but proud of the team.”

New Hampshire (6-13, 0-6 AE) was first to find the net, scoring back-to-back threes to take an early 6-0 lead. Senior guard Meghan Casey put up Binghamton’s (13-6, 5-1 AE) first points of the game with a layup. As the foes continued to trade points through the rest of the first quarter, New Hampshire held a 15-9 lead as the clock expired.

The Bearcats came within three to open the second quarter, and after a layup from the Wildcats, junior guard Bella Pucci hit an and-one and a pair of free throws to tie the game at 17. A three from junior guard Leah Middleton gave Binghamton its first lead of the game, after which they scored six unanswered points, forcing a New Hampshire timeout with just over two minutes remaining. As the clock expired in the first half, Binghamton held a 26-21 lead over the visitors.

“[Pucci] can shoot whenever she wants,” Grimes said. “I try to just continue to put the battery in her bag to be aggressive, and I think she did a good job of it when she was open and knocking down shots and then being aggressive and getting to the hoop.”

The Wildcats opened the third quarter with an 8-2 run to retake the lead, but a three from Pucci gave it back to Binghamton. Both teams continued to rack up points, the scoreboard reading 33-33 at the first media timeout. The Bearcats took the lead out of the timeout thanks to a layup from junior forward Kendall Bennett, but a deep three from the Wildcats made Binghamton go down by one, where the score remained for the rest of the quarter.

Senior guard Kaia Goode opened scoring in the fourth, hitting a layup off a breakaway to give BU the lead back. Pucci soon tacked on another three as Binghamton took a 40-36 lead headed into the next timeout. The foes traded scores as the quarter marched on, with Binghamton holding a 47-40 lead with just under two minutes left in the game. Pucci continued to tack on free throws, making the lead 50-40, before a pair of Wildcat free throws in the closing seconds saw the Bearcats claim a 50-42 victory.

“We were consistent all the way through with the defensive pressure, offensive consistency and then when we really needed to attack, I think we did a really good job with that in the fourth quarter,” Grimes said. “And understanding how they’re playing us, I think it might take us a little while to understand, are they switching, are they hedging? So I’m proud of them for just continuing to pour it on in fourths.”

Among the team’s top performers were Pucci and Bennett, who scored 20 points and 13 points, respectively. Bennett also recorded 14 rebounds, marking her eighth double-double of the season. Middleton was the team’s third leading scorer with eight points on the night. Casey and Goode led the team in assists with three each, while Casey and freshman guard Carletta Bennett each recorded two steals.

“In the second quarter, our coaches just told us to be aggressive — they can’t guard us,” Pucci said. “So that’s what we did, and we just went to the basket, and then we got a couple foul calls, but we work on it in practice. Coaches are always hitting us with a pad to work on the physicality, so that’s what I did.”

The Bearcats will continue their home stretch when they host Maine. Tipoff is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 24 at 2 p.m. at the Dr. Bai Lee Court in Vestal, New York.