Though the final women’s basketball exhibition game did not count toward their record, the defeat still acted as a wake-up call to the Bearcats.

The Bearcats were outplayed in their disappointing 69-59 loss to the Division II St. Rose Golden Knights Friday night at the Events Center. St. Rose opened the game with an 8-0 run and never looked back. The final score was reflective of the hold that St. Rose had on Binghamton throughout most of the game.

The first Bearcat points of the game did not come until more than four minutes in, on a jumper by senior guard Rebecka Lindgren, demonstrating how stingy St. Rose’s defense was. The Bearcats, who trailed for the entirety of the game, were closest at the end of the first half when they were trailing by three points.

“I don’t feel like we executed well,” said head coach Rich Conover, “and St. Rose is a very good team. We turned the ball over and weren’t consistent with our runs. It’s not a good combination.”

Though the Bearcats picked themselves up in the second half, it was not enough to topple the Golden Knights. Binghamton committed only eight turnovers in the second half, as opposed to 12 in the first, and went on an 8-0 run to cut the lead to eight with 7:02 to go, but the team’s efforts came up short.

The Bearcats were expecting a hard game from St. Rose despite it still being the preseason. Last year, Binghamton handed a heavy loss to St. Rose in exhibition, hammering the Golden Knights to the tune of 96-51.

“Last year we beat them by 45 points,” said junior center Laine Kurpniece, “so we were expecting them to be out for revenge. They were just more prepared than we were.”

Despite the loss, there were several impressive performances for Binghamton. Kurpniece turned in a team-high 16 points and nine rebounds. Junior guard Laura Sario and junior center Juta Jahilo also had big games, contributing 11 and 12 points, respectively. For St. Rose, junior center Lauren Revesz had a huge game, racking up a game-high 17 points, including a perfect night shooting from the free throw line, going six for six from the charity stripe.

“It’s all about execution,” Conover said about preparing for tonight’s season opener. “We need to play harder and more consistently.”

Senior point guard Shea Kenny was out for her second consecutive game on Friday, still nursing an injured foot. Kenny missed both of the exhibition games and is listed as doubtful for tonight’s season opener against Sacred Heart. Her absence hurts, as she is considered a leader of the team by her teammates as well as her coaches.

“If she could be out here [tonight], we’ll have her out there,” Conover said about Kenny’s day-to-day status, “but we don’t want to jeopardize her senior year, especially not in November.”

Despite the tough loss, the regular season has yet to begin, and the Bearcats now have a better idea of what to expect this season.

“We just have to make sure we’re executing and not letting up open shots,” Sario said. “We have a lot to work on in practice before Tuesday.”