After accumulating a season-high 77 points and shooting a season-best 56.9 percent from the field, the Binghamton women’s basketball team defeated Fairfield at home on Saturday afternoon. The Bearcats led for nearly the entire game and held off a late-game comeback by the Stags to earn their fifth win of the season 77-72.

“They just kept their mindset right,” said Binghamton head coach Bethann Shapiro Ord. “They knew if they’re not knocking down shots, I’m gonna do something else. The team was really a unit today, they were selfless. They took care of each other, moved the ball, knocked down shots and when they passed it to each other, they gave them that confidence.”

BU (5-4) and Fairfield (3-4) both came out attacking on offense as they traded baskets through the first five minutes of action. Redshirt freshman guard Ella Wanzer and sophomore forward Genevieve Coleman combined for the team’s first 14 points. Wanzer initiated the scoring in the first with a layup and Coleman followed up with two straight baskets. Wanzer then hit two straight three-pointers and Binghamton closed out the quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 23-13 lead. The Bearcats shot 60 percent from the field and connected on all of their three-point attempts. In the first period, Coleman and Wanzer had nine and eight points, respectively.

“[Wanzer and Coleman] took care of business and knocked down shots and did what they had to do,” Shapiro Ord said. “They didn’t think about offense, they just got in there and did an incredible job.”

Senior guard Denai Bowman opened up the second quarter scoring with a step-back jump shot. This sparked a seven-point solo-scoring run for Bowman, followed by a Coleman layup to put the Bearcats up by 19. BU’s defense was able to hold the Stags to 14.3 percent shooting in the second quarter and took a 39-25 advantage going into halftime. Coleman and Bowman led the way for BU, entering the break with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

“I think we were just all really excited and super energetic coming out there,” Coleman said. “We wanted that win and we wanted it so bad. We had nothing to lose coming out there, so we came out ready to ball out. And everything was going our way and we were hitting our shots, everything was falling.”

Binghamton opened the second half hot, hitting all four of its shots in the first two minutes. Senior guard Clare Traeger got the scoring started with a layup that sparked an 11-3 run that included a Wanzer three-pointer, her third of the game. Fairfield attempted to make a comeback around the midway point of the penultimate quarter, going on a 5-0 run that was promptly halted by another Wanzer three. The Stags closed out the last five minutes of the period on an 11-2 run to cut their deficit to 11.

“We have a ton of guards that can get in the paint,” Wanzer said. “[Redshirt freshman guard Jadyn Weltz] and [Bowman] are always getting into the paint and seeing me, and I think that since they are such a threat, it gets me a shot … I’m thankful that I have teammates that can find me to shoot.”

In the final quarter, BU’s defense held the visitors scoreless for nearly four minutes. Bowman began to heat up again as she scored five points in a row before Wanzer struck again from three. The Stags chipped away, narrowing the lead to as little as five points with under a minute to go, but it was not enough as the Bearcats closed the game out at the free throw line and secured a 77-72 win.

“We stayed with the basics,” Shapiro Ord said. “We worked on our defense. Offensively we didn’t change anything because I knew these guys were gonna knock down shots.”

Wanzer led the team, finishing with 20 points — a collegiate career high for her. The redshirt freshman knocked down six of her nine attempts from three, the most by a Bearcat so far this season. Coleman was not far behind with 19 points of her own, while Bowman added 17 in the winning effort.

“We really wanted to show what we can do, especially today,” Wanzer said. “We knew it was going to be a tough battle. [The Stags] were the MAAC (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) champions last year. They’re a great team with great players, and we really knew that and kind of stepped up to the challenge.”

BU returns to action against Siena on Monday, Dec. 5. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the UHY Center in Loudonville, New York.