Up against a team it has never beaten, the Binghamton University women’s basketball team put up a fierce fight against St. Bonaventure University, coming from behind and forcing the game into overtime. However, it was the Bonnies who would eventually come out on top, taking the game 62-59 in the Bearcats’ season opener Friday night.
Binghamton head coach Nicole Scholl said that in the time she’s been with the team, she felt Friday’s game against St. Bonaventure was one of the best starts the team has had.
‘I thought [Friday’s] performance was fantastic,’ Scholl said. ‘We fought the whole game, from start to finish.’
The game got off to a slow start for both teams, with the clock at 15:36 before a layup by Binghamton sophomore guard Kara Elofson saw the game’s first points. Despite getting on the board first, the Bearcats’ offensive struggles continued, and they soon found themselves down 12-4. BU would manage to fight back, though, and with 1:08 left in the first half, two free throws by junior Viive-Kai Rebane pulled the Bearcats within three. The score 19-16, Rebane pulled down a big defensive rebound with 33 seconds left to give her team a final chance to tie the score going into the half. With 10 seconds remaining on the clock, freshman forward Jasbriell Swain was fouled after sinking a game-tying 3-pointer off an assist by junior guard Andrea Holmes. Swain hit the free throw to finish off the four-point play and give the Bearcats a one-point lead going into the second half.
The 3-pointer was Swain’s third in the half, her 10 points making up 50 percent of the Bearcats’ first-half total. Swain would go 5-for-7 from behind the arc and end the night with a team-high 18 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. She was named America East Rookie of the Week for her performance.
‘[Swain] did a fantastic job in the exhibition game and she came out [again Friday],’ Scholl said. ‘She might be a freshman, and as a freshman there’s always little mistakes and things you can clean up, but she’s just a fearless player and she just plays the game with such intensity. For her to get 11 rebounds and 18 points against a tough [Atlantic 10] team, it was fantastic.’
In the second half, after falling behind the Bonnies 38-33, a jumper by Elofson, who would finish the night with 11 points and nine rebounds, set the Bearcats on a seven-point streak. Following Elofson’s basket, Rebane put up five points in under a minute to give BU a two-point lead. With 3:55 left in the game, the Bonnies recaptured the lead off a 3-pointer by senior Cara Gustafson to make the score 45-42. Rebane would pull down another big defensive rebound to give the Bearcats possession with just under two minutes remaining. With 1:28 left on the clock and BU trailing by three, Swain landed her fifth 3-pointer of the night off an assist from Elofson to send the game into overtime.
After a 24-point performance in last Tuesday’s exhibition against Mansfield, Holmes was held to just six points during the game’s regulation. In overtime, though, Holmes caught fire, hitting three 3-pointers in the five-minute period to give her three more points than she had in the entire two halves prior.
‘That’s just Andrea’s leadership,’ Scholl said of Holmes’ ability to step it up when it means the most. ‘She’s one of our clutch performers and she’s going to take big shots for us. At the end of the game, she likes having the ball in her hands and I think her teammates are very comfortable in that.’
Holmes ended the night with 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists, but the Bearcats still came up short. After back-to-back 3-pointers by Holmes brought the Bearcats within one point with 16 seconds left to play, BU was forced to foul. Rebane took her fifth foul of the night to foul out, and junior Jessica Jenkins, who ended the night with a game-high 22 points, hit both her free throws to put the Bonnies up by three. Gaining possession with 11 seconds left, the Bearcats had one last shot, but a missed 3-pointer ended BU’s hopes as St. Bonaventure went on to take it, 62-59.
Despite the loss, the Bearcats’ performance was a significant improvement from their past matchups. The Bonnies beat the Bearcats 63-42 last season, and 66-51 the season prior.
Tonight the Bearcats are set to take on Canisius in their first home game of the regular season. Canisius has come out victorious in the team’s last four meetings, but the Griffs graduated four key players who each had appearances in 30 games last season. Despite the new faces, Scholl expects Canisius to remain a challenge.
Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. tonight at the Events Center.