Despite entering the game riding a three-game winning streak, the Binghamton women’s basketball team turned the ball over a decisive 27 times in a 13-point defeat to Hartford. The Hawks (20-9, 13-2 America East) led by as many as 17 as they sought revenge against one of the only two conference opponents to defeat them this season. Hartford came through with vengeance, downing the Bearcats (12-16, 7-8 AE), 63-50.

“It’s kinda hard to stay in a game when you have 27 turnovers, unfortunately. But they did a really good job and we were a little bit too loose with the basketball,” said BU head coach Bethann Shapiro Ord. “And of course, they [the Hawks] wanted revenge, but we’re going to regroup and we’re going to get it together.”

Escaping a pesky full-court press was by no means an easy task, evidenced by the fact that Binghamton scored only seven points in the opening quarter. The Bearcats remain in last place in the AE in turnovers, averaging 18 per game. Hartford, on the other hand, forces a conference-best 24.8 forced turnovers for a +9.38 turnover differential.

Binghamton is also no stranger to rough first periods. Two weeks ago from yesterday, the team faced off with the UMBC Retrievers and recorded just one point in the opening frame.

“It’s forty minutes and you can’t look at the past, at that first quarter. We saw it at UMBC — I hate to bring that one back, but it happens,” Shapiro Ord said. “For whatever reason, we were just not playing the way we played the first time against them [Hawks]. Unfortunately, with the turnovers we had it was tough.”

Although the Bearcats were able to come back in the contest against UMBC, the squad was not as fortunate in its showdown with the Hawks. BU entered the break with 16 turnovers and only 19 points, seven of which were provided by junior guard Kai Moon.

Looking to make a push in the second half, Binghamton continued to make its presence felt on the glass. Even though the team was limited to seven second chance points, the Bearcats corralled 40 rebounds for the entire game, with 13 coming on the offensive end. BU strung together 31 points in the second 20 minutes as junior guard Carly Boland and sophomore forward Olivia Ramil combined for 18 points in the half.

“With 27 turnovers, it’s still the game that it was where it could’ve really got out of hand,” Shapiro Ord said. “They [the Bearcats] just kept battling to the end — there was not one minute that they put their heads down. That’s a positive thing going forward as far as building a culture here. The girls are doing a tremendous job of how they are reacting.”

While errors largely defined the contest for Binghamton, one major bright spot was freshman guard Annie Ramil’s performance. A. Ramil secured her first career double-double with 12 points and 10 boards to her name in just 22 minutes of action.

In their home finale on Saturday, the Bearcats will be hosting their annual Senior Day, recognizing those who are set to graduate this semester. BU will honor senior forwards Kennedi Thompson and Rebecca Carmody, as well as redshirt junior forward Corrinne Godshall.

“Senior night is going to be emotional for a few of them, and for me because this is my first group and they have given everything they can,” Shapiro Ord said. “From Rebecca Carmody playing a lot, doing what she does and her leadership ability to Corrinne and Kennedi who show up every day to practice to work hard, to give everything they can, even though they don’t get a lot of playing time. What they do as far being great teammates.”

Tipoff against conference-leading Maine is set for noon on Saturday, March 2 from the Events Center in Vestal, New York.