In its second game of the season, the Binghamton women’s basketball team hosted Canisius after its highly contested match with Siena. The Bearcats ended the first half down by two but a second-half surge earned the women a comfortable 73-56 win.

“Our fourth quarter was tremendous,” said Binghamton head coach Bethann Shapiro Ord. “They took it on their shoulders and determined that they needed to pick it up, and our defense definitely helped our offense.”

BU (2-0) bottled the Griffins (0-2) up in the first quarter, holding them to only three made field goals and eight total points. Canisius did not hit a three in its four attempts while junior guard Clare Traeger and senior guard Hayley Moore each added a three to account for half of the Bearcats’ first-quarter points. The Bearcats were able to hold Canisius to 18.75 percent from the field in the first quarter.

“Our defense always helps with our offense,” Shapiro Ord said. “In the first half we weren’t pressuring them as well even in our half-court man, and they still had some turnovers so that’s why we decided let’s get after it a little bit, and I don’t think they were ready for it.”

Binghamton’s four-point lead quickly evaporated as Canisius opened the second quarter with a 12-4 run. BU recaptured the lead late in the quarter before the Griffins capped off the second quarter with a three-point buzzer-beater to give them a 26-24 lead at the midway point.

BU and Canisius continued to battle back and forth throughout the third quarter with neither team leading by more than four points. The Griffins shot 58.33 percent from the field in the third but were unable to extend their lead, going into the fourth still up two.

Early in the fourth quarter, junior guard Cassidy Roberts got through the defense and tied the game up at 48. This bucket sparked a 19-2 run by the Bearcats where they took a 69-54 lead. Traeger recorded two of her four made three-pointers during this run while two layups from freshman forward Genevieve Coleman contributed to the late push. With a full-court press, the Bearcats forced Canisius to shoot 26.67 percent from the field in the fourth quarter. BU itself shot 63.16 percent from the field and 50 percent from three.

“We kept saying we have 10 minutes left to finish the job,” Traeger said. ”We’re coming together as a team. We started off slow, but in the fourth quarter, it was win it or lose it. It was only up to us.”

Traeger finished with a career-high 21 points on 5-10 shooting from the field. Coleman added 11 points and nearly recorded her first career double-double, grabbing eight rebounds.

“I didn’t even realize it to be honest,” Traeger said. “I looked up and then I had 17, and then 19, and then [junior guard Denai Bowman] said, ‘Get a 20 piece,’ so I got a 20 piece. Most importantly, I did what I could for my team. It’s about the [win]. It wasn’t about points, but I’m glad that I could contribute to that … I’m excited to see what we can do if we do that for the whole 40 minutes. We push each other every day in practice so it’s really just every person doing their part, and [Shapiro Ord] preaches on that.”

Coleman has now played two games as a Bearcat and started in both. In both games, she has been the third-leading scorer for BU. She has yet to shoot below 50 percent as she went 5-7 from the field on Saturday.

“As a freshman, [Coleman is] doing really well,” Shapiro Ord said. “Right now we’re down a few players with our bigs, but she stepped up and we’re throwing her right into the fire. This is a great opportunity for her to keep getting better. A lot of freshmen don’t get that opportunity and she’s getting in and stepping up. We’re still working, but we’ll continue to get better.”

The Bearcats are set to continue their season as they take on Cornell University on Wednesday, Nov. 17. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center in Vestal, New York.