Winter recess was a series of peaks and valleys for the Binghamton University women’s basketball team.
Starting with double-digit road losses to Patriot League leader Lehigh University and Northeast Conference leader Sacred Heart, the Bearcats (7-11, 2-3 AE) rebounded with a road victory over Cornell, a very strong showing against America East reigning champ Hartford and a home victory over I-88 rival Albany.
An 83-61 loss at first-place Boston University on Jan. 14, was quickly avenged four days later against Stony Brook in a game where the Bearcats scored 91 points in victory, their highest scoring output since 2005. In the Stony Brook game, freshman Andrea Holmes scored 32 points, the highest freshman total for Binghamton in the Division I era.
This past Saturday, the Bearcats finished winter recess with a conference matchup at UMBC. Unfortunately, the winter break ended in a valley as UMBC (12-7, 4-2 America East) took the lead early and never looked back, defeating Binghamton by a 78-63 margin.
Binghamton took their only lead of the game 50 seconds into the first half off of a 3-pointer from junior Muffy Sadler, but UMBC answered with a 6-0 run to take the lead that they would never relinquish.
The Bearcats mounted a 9-1 run late in the first half, highlighted by back-to-back field goals from senior Laura Franceski, to pull within three points of UMBC at 34-31. The Retrievers, led by junior Carlee Cassidy’s 27 points, would not let the Bearcats come any closer.
Mounting turnover and foul troubles plagued the Bearcats.
“Andrea Holmes had to sit in the first half, even into the second half; that definitely hurt us,” said Binghamton head coach Nicole Scholl.
Binghamton’s bench was further reduced when freshman forward Viive Rebane picked up her fourth foul just three minutes into the second half, and every major contributor minus Sadler ended the game in foul trouble.
UMBC extended the seven-point halftime lead into a comfortable double-digit margin by forcing turnovers and cashing in at the free-throw line, where the Retrievers connected for 79 percent of their attempts in the second half.
Binghamton had one last rally, cutting UMBC’s lead to 65-59 with 2:43 remaining off of a free throw from junior Darryll Peterson. Binghamton could not force the turnovers in the final minutes, though, and had to resort to fouling to stop the clock. Four Bearcats fouled out in the last two minutes, while UMBC only missed one free throw en route to the 78-63 victory.
Holmes led the way again for the Bearcats, following her 32-point performance against Stony Brook with 14 points on 4-7 shooting.
“[Holmes] is becoming more and more comfortable every game,” Scholl said. “She’s done a great job learning to trust her teammates.”
Franceski chipped in 12 points, as well as a game-leading four blocks. She leads the America East in blocked shots at three per game and needs only four more blocked shots to break Binghamton’s Division I record of 57, which Franceski herself set the past two seasons.
UMBC was led by Cassidy’s 27 points, which keeps her as the front runner for America East scoring champion: Cassidy is averaging 22.2 points per game. Freshman Erin Brown also added 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Retrievers.
The loss drops Binghamton to 2-3 in the America East, but the team has kept its eye on the big prize for March.
“In this league, anybody could beat anybody on a given night; we’re trying to focus on each game … hopefully playing our best basketball in March,” Scholl said.
Off the court, the team has made an impact in the local community by meeting with students at Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School this past Friday, and they will be going to Horace Mann Elementary School tomorrow.
“It is just an opportunity for us to give back to the community … give them [the elementary school students] some needed attention,” Scholl said.
The school visits have been positive for the Binghamton women as well.
“It’s good for our kids as well, to let them see what is really out there,” Scholl said.
Binghamton looks to even up their conference record tomorrow when the University of New Hampshire comes to town. Game time is 7 p.m.; all undergraduate students receive free entry with a student ID.