On Saturday, the Binghamton women’s basketball team hosted Maine for its second straight home game. The Bearcats entered the contest looking to improve to above .500 in America East (AE) play this year. Despite gathering a late-game lead in the fourth quarter, BU failed to hold onto its advantage in the closing minutes and fell to the Black Bears 50-46.

“All five of our starters are really good scorers,” said Binghamton head coach Bethann Shapiro Ord. “When they get great shots and have really good opportunities going downhill and sharing the basketball, we look really good, and [redshirt freshman guard Jadyn Weltz] did a good job getting some of those opportunities.”

BU (10-10, 3-4 AE) began the game slowly, allowing Maine (9-9, 5-1 AE) to go on a 5-0 run. The Bearcats kept pace with the visitors, however, putting points on the board themselves and taking the lead away from Maine. With three minutes left in the period, Weltz scored seven points on three straight possessions for Binghamton to end the frame. The redshirt freshman’s scoring outburst propelled BU to a 17-16 lead going into the second period. Weltz would eventually end the game with a 10 point and 10 rebound double-double on 4-11 shooting.

After scoring on its first possession in the second quarter, BU failed to score for the next seven minutes, allowing Maine to go on an 11-1 run. The Bearcats entered halftime facing a 27-20 deficit. BU shot 1-13 to Maine’s 4-16, and was out-rebounded in the quarter.

“In that second quarter with us not scoring and them putting the pressure on us a little bit, we started to get out of what we do,” Shapiro Ord said.

BU entered the second half down seven and traded baskets with Maine until the score was 32-24. Sophomore forward Genevieve Coleman scored 10 points in the quarter, including a three-pointer to take the lead with 37 seconds left in the period. This push, along with three points from senior guard Denai Bowman, gave BU the lead 37-35 entering the final frame.

“Everyone is going to hone in on [redshirt freshman guard Ella Wanzer] because she is scoring at will, so we need people to do other things,” Shapiro Ord said.

The fourth period involved back-and-forth scoring until it was knotted up at 43 with 3:56 left. One minute later, after three empty possessions by both teams, Maine picked up a five-point lead over BU with 2:23 left. Bowman made a layup with 51 seconds left and a free throw with four seconds left to cut the lead to two, but Maine pulled away with two late free throws. Despite Coleman giving BU a chance with her third-quarter offensive showing, Binghamton could not close out the contest, falling to the Black Bears 50-46.

“We have to play four quarters,” Shapiro Ord said. “I love the battle and I love how they fight, but we have to take care of business in every quarter.”

Binghamton begins a two-game road trip against Vermont on Wednesday, Jan. 25. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. at the Patrick Gymnasium in Burlington, Vermont.