For a team that has struggled on the road all season long, the Binghamton University women’s basketball team’s recent two-game road swing must have seemed like a daunting task. The Bearcats ventured on the critical road trip looking for their second and third road wins of the season, and found them.
Binghamton (11-16, 9-5 America East) picked up a 59-47 win over New Hampshire this Saturday after defeating Stony Brook last Wednesday 73-72. The Bearcats carry a three-game win streak and have won five of their last seven.
“We picked up big wins on the road,” said BU head coach Rich Conover. “We did what we needed to do.”
The victories came at a crucial time as teams are jockeying for positions in the standings with the conference tournament looming. BU, in a three-way tie for third place, can finish anywhere from third to fifth in the standings.
Sophomore Erica Carter led the way for BU, scoring a team-high 12 points and four assists and senior Laine Kurpniece tallied 10 points in the win over New Hampshire (6-20, 3-11). Both players did most of their damage in the second half as Carter scored 10 and Kurpniece added eight in the decisive period.
“We have struggled in second halves this season,” Conover said. “But we withstood [New Hampshire’s] run and played well.”
BU slipped out of the usual second-half trance it had been falling into. The Bearcats used a 12-3 run in the first nine minutes of the second half against the Wildcats to take a 39-27 lead that set the tone for the remainder of the game. The Wildcats did not come within more than nine the rest of the way.
The Bearcats survived a close game with last-place Stony Brook on Wednesday, relying on late-game free throws to hold off the Seawolves.
BU senior Laura Sario led the way as she poured in a season-high 23 points, including two free throws with 20 seconds remaining to put BU up 72-67. Senior Brianna Thompson drained a free throw with 10 seconds to go following a Stony Brook 3-pointer, giving the Bearcats a three-point edge.
Stony Brook forward Kirsten Jeter sank a layup as time expired, leaving Stony Brook one point short.
“Sario was huge for us,” Conover said. “She was very aggressive and played well.”
Sario, who tallied a pair of assists, notched her second 20-point performance of the season and her fourth for her career. Kurpniece added 15 points and three rebounds, and junior Laura Franceski added 13 points and nine rebounds for the Bearcats.
With conference play winding down, the Bearcats return home where they have lost just once in conference play this season. They face conference rival Albany at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Events Center.
“It will be a big game,” Conover said. “Albany is one of the teams we’re tied with, so it would be good to be on an upswing.”