On Wednesday night, the Binghamton women’s basketball team hosted UMBC for the teams’ second and final America East (AE) regular season meeting of the year. In their first matchup, the Retrievers bested the Bearcats 73-69 in a contest that came down to the final minute of play. This game saw a similarly close outcome, but BU pulled away late and came out on top, securing the win 80-70.

“The key was our stops that we got,” said Binghamton head coach Bethann Shapiro Ord. “[UMBC] did get a lot of points in the paint, but when you’re going twos inside to our threes, that’s hard to stop.”

UMBC (9-12, 6-4 AE) put points on the board first as it quickly jumped out to a 7-2 lead over BU (12-11, 5-5 AE). Despite trailing, senior guard Denai Bowman dropped in two straight Bearcat buckets to remain close. The visitors, however, did not lose any steam as they pulled away 13-6 shortly after. Bowman’s first-quarter flurry continued as the senior added four more points in the period. The hosts ended the frame on a 13-2 run and entered the second with a 19-15 advantage.

“A few games I felt like I wasn’t being that aggressive, so I talk to myself before every game and have a go-getter mindset,” Bowman said. “It’s been paying off the last two [games].”

The Retrievers began the second period putting a halt to Binghamton’s first-quarter run as the teams put in back-and-forth scores. Although UMBC applied pressure, the hosts remained ahead due in part to redshirt freshman guard Jadyn Weltz who scored four straight points. This, however, did not last as the Retrievers added 10 unanswered points and took a 32-27 lead with a minute left in the half. The Bearcats did not back down, despite relinquishing their lead, as they scored two straight baskets and entered the break trailing 32-31.

“When we’re drawing up a play, we can go to any person,” Bowman said. “The defense has to stay on their toes because they don’t know who’s coming.”

BU kicked off the third quarter scoring with a quick three-pointer from redshirt freshman guard Ella Wanzer and extended its second-period run to 7-0. Soon after, Wanzer drilled two consecutive three-pointers, allowing Binghamton to take a 44-40 advantage. Despite pulling away to a seven-point lead in the period, the Bearcats could not keep the Retrievers out of reach. UMBC closed out the penultimate quarter on a 9-3 run as BU led 52-51 heading into the final stretch of play.

“It’s easy to shoot when you have people that are putting up 12 assists,” Wanzer said. “I wouldn’t be able to make threes without the way [Weltz] passes and the way [Bowman] passes … Shooting goes on and off, so I have to make sure to just keep it on.”

Despite BU gaining momentum to start the quarter, UMBC did not allow the hosts to gain a larger advantage as the game was knotted at 60 with just five minutes left to play. The visitors jumped out to a four-point lead that was quickly diminished after Wanzer drilled consecutive shots from beyond the arc. With the game knotted up at 68 with just two minutes remaining, Weltz hit a three-pointer for BU to take the late advantage. This spark allowed the Bearcats to close out the contest over the Retrievers 80-70.

“I would say that fourth quarter of 28 points was pretty impressive,” Shapiro Ord said. “The second half, we really brought it. [Defensive stops] propelled our offense, and we were able to get the buckets that we did because of our defense.”

Binghamton’s 80 points marked the team’s highest total this year. Bowman led the scoring charge with 21 points, followed by Wanzer — who scored 18 thanks to five 3-pointers. In addition, senior guard Clare Traeger grabbed 18 rebounds. Weltz also showed out as well, earning herself a 10-point double-double with 12 assists, a career-best and the highest total by a BU player since 2015.

“[Weltz] is just a gritty kid, and she’s trying to do everything she can to help this team and put her teammates in situations to be successful with her assists,” Shapiro Ord said. “She works really hard. She came up with 10 points, 12 assists — a double-double that’s pretty good.”

The Bearcats will close out their two-game home-stand against New Hampshire on Wednesday, Feb. 8. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center in Vestal, New York.