As I sat there watching the Binghamton University women’s basketball team’s home opener, a single thought came to mind that I felt compelled to write. My cautious optimism that I employed at the beginning of this season seems to have been misplaced.

I do not like to write off a team only seven games into the season, especially when they hold a 3-4 record, but the efforts of the Binghamton women’s basketball team in this first stretch of the season make it difficult not to.

The team’s 3-4 record is a joke. Their opening non-conference schedule should have been Christmas come early for this team. Their wins against Colgate, Bryant and Niagara were supposed to be guaranteed. When analyzing those wins, you can see this team will not match up well with America East powerhouses like Hartford, Albany and Boston University.

They defeated a weak Colgate team by 25; last season they beat the same team by 48, a team that has 16 total wins in the last three seasons. Bryant is a first-year Division I school, in transition to the highest level of the NCAA; Binghamton only beat them by seven. Bryant was also a 3-pointer away from cutting the game to a two-point lead with four minutes to go. These are two teams Binghamton should have trounced and made into examples.

Their loss to Portland State in their home opener was personally my first chance to see them in action. I believe I can’t be any clearer in my disappointment. Binghamton shot 28 percent for the first half, scoring a measly 18 points by the break, luckily trailing by just two points. The only consolation in their terrible play was the fact that the Vikings shot worse, at 21 percent.

The Bearcats lacked communication and appeared out of sync. Players were running into each other and fighting teammates over a rebound. Their turnovers at times were so sloppy, they reminded me of my high school basketball team having amassed 24 for the game. This may seem harsh but the fans will attest to the awful first half of play. The crowd was virtually silent until the PA announcer played “Everybody Clap Your Hands” early in the second half. It is difficult to get very excited about 18 points in 20 minutes of play.

At times the Bearcats’ defense used the full court press to force turnovers and create opportunities to score, but overall the defense was sporadic at best.

The Bearcats came up with the win we expected against Niagara yesterday. They did it efficiently, attempting to refute everything I have been saying. Binghamton picked off Niagara on the road, 83-65, in a strong offensive performance. The Bearcats shot 50 percent from the floor, the first time in ten months since their Feb. 27, 2008 game against Stony Brook. Niagara, however, is a weak program right now destined for the bottom of their conference.

Niagara was demolished by Duquesne, 100-42, last Friday, a team which beat Binghamton by 12 a week ago. This was a team Binghamton was supposed to beat handily, and they did. There is potential out there. But where is it on a consistent basis?

The Bearcats are now shooting under 38 percent on the year. Poor shooting and turnovers are becoming a ritual each game. You would expect that after weeks of preseason practices and more than two weeks of games that the transition would be complete. But the team does not appear to gel or gather much rhythm at all in games.

My attitude might seem harsh, but I expect some results from this team. The athletic department gives this program a lot of money and resources and after seven years of being a Division I school, it is not outrageous to expect mild success. If head coach Nicole Scholl is going to return to the same mantra and coaching styles of former head coach Rich Conover, then we have a problem. After a superb and talented team got to the AE semi-finals in 2006, the Bearcats have no success to talk about.

Conover’s style was too laid back and he was nonchalant about losses. The program needs a coach who will bring an overhaul to the same failed system that has been in place for five years. Coach Scholl needs to be that agent of change or this season will be one to forget.