On Tuesday night the highlights at the Events Center included stunning performances by the Binghamton University Dance Team, the Cheer Team and a guy who won 50 bucks catching flying paper in a six foot plastic chamber ‘ And of course (who could forget), there was also the impressive win by women’s basketball that demolished guest St. Rose in the exhibition game 90-55.

As the preseason came to a close, Binghamton truly demonstrated its potential to be an outstanding team this season.

‘I was pleased,’ said head coach Rich Conover. ‘I thought we came into the game strong and stayed with it.’

‘I [felt] we did a good job,’ said senior guard Laura Sario. ‘Everyone brought something to the game.’

The Bearcats were not going to let events unfold the same way as they did in last year’s exhibition game, a 69-59 loss to the Division II Golden Knights. This time, Conover’s squad exploded in the first half leading 47-22 and went on to the second with consistency.

Sophomore guard Erica Carter took center stage siphoning a game-high 28 points and made eight 3-point shots, while both senior forward Laine Kurpniece and junior center Laura Franceski added 12 points apiece.

The Golden Knights had only eight out of their 13 players suited up for the game on Tuesday and had no centers, which also gave the Bearcats an extra edge.

Although the day was victorious, there are a lot of things the Bearcats need to improve on for what lies on the road ahead, especially with their defense.

‘We need to get more consistent,’ said senior forward Brianna Thompson. ‘When we lead we tend to get lazy, and that is what hurts us. We need to be able to be on the same level [at all times].’

Kurpniece echoed Thompson and expressed the team’s need to learn defensive consistency.

‘We need to improve a lot by playing with fewer turnovers and just be defensive altogether on the court,’ said the Latvia native.

It will be a while till the Bearcats come back to play at the Events Center. They will be playing four games away before returning to their home court Nov. 28. Rather than seeing this as a setback, the team hopes to take it to their advantage.

‘I think [it is] a good way to start the season to see if we are going to do well,’ Kurpniece said.

‘We love going on the road,’ Conover said. ‘The four games ‘ are a good test.’

As the team aims to get better in their game, sophomore guard Muffy Sadler and freshman guard Jackie Ward aim to get better from their injuries so that they can get back into the game.

Ward who, according to Conover, had ‘been out for four to five weeks,’ is starting up practices so she can get more playtime on the court, while Sadler, who fell victim to an ACL injury last season, is still in the process of mending her knee. It is undetermined when she will be able to play again with the Bearcat squad.

The team was also flagged this year to finish third out of the nine teams in the America East Conference. This is the highest spot Binghamton was voted upon since joining the division in 2001.

Conover says that he and his team are honored to be placed in such regard; however, they are not letting it go to their heads.

‘Anybody can beat anybody in our conference,’ he said. ‘I think it’s not a fair measure of who is the better team and who is not.’

Sario and Kurpniece were named to the preseason all-conference team and are the only two players to be from the same school. Like Donovan, they were pleasantly surprised but are thinking more about the games ahead and the season at hand.

‘We [have not] played anything yet,’ Kurpniece said. ‘We have a long way ahead of us, so I am not really thinking about that.’

The Bearcats will kick off the season by heading over to the west coast to play against the Portland State Vikings on Saturday.