Following its annual senior day celebrations, the Binghamton women’s basketball team faced bottom of the America East (AE) UMass Lowell on Saturday afternoon. Despite a strong first quarter defensively — and a 6-0 run in the final minute — the Bearcats fell short against the River Hawks 62-55.

“I think UMass Lowell came in and they just were swinging,” said Binghamton head coach Bethann Shapiro Ord. “That’s a really good team right there. Their record does not show what it is, and they came out punching and swinging.”

BU (13-14, 6-8 AE) got off to a strong start on defense, not allowing a single basket in the first five minutes of the game. Senior guard Denai Bowman had two blocks in the first two minutes, as Binghamton’s defense forced eight turnovers in the opening quarter. This defensive effort allowed the Bearcats to gather a 6-0 lead early on. However, UMass Lowell (3-21, 2-12 AE) made three 3-pointers in the second half of the period, keeping the game close. The Bearcats would finish the frame with a narrow 11-9 lead.

BU opened the second quarter with back-to-back threes from sophomore forward Genevieve Coleman and redshirt freshman guard Ella Wanzer, respectively. Both teams traded baskets after that, until the middle of the period when the River Hawks went on a 9-0 run to tie the game with just under three minutes left in the half. UMass Lowell continued to pull away in the final minutes of the half, as it finished with a 28-23 lead at the break.

“[UMass Lowell] were doing a good job of attacking the rim, and we stopped attacking the rim,” Shapiro Ord said. “We gotta keep up the intensity.”

The second half started with both teams trading baskets, until the River Hawks went on another run at 9-2, giving them a comfortable 11-point lead with 2:50 left in the third. This time, BU responded with free throws from senior guard Clare Traeger and baskets from Bowman and redshirt freshman guard Jadyn Weltz, cutting the deficit to just five. In the final minute of the frame, UMass Lowell looked to expand its lead with a fast break opportunity. However, Bowman came from behind and blocked it, keeping the game at 43-36 going into the final period.

After a basket from Binghamton to begin the fourth quarter, the River Hawks continued to pull away and extend their lead. With under a minute and a half remaining in the game, the Bearcats trailed by 10 points and looked to make a comeback. After a Weltz basket cut the deficit to eight, steals on back-to-back defensive possessions led to two more scores for BU, cutting the UMass Lowell lead to just four with 30 seconds left. However, the River Hawks were able to sink clutch free throws, pulling away and defeating the Bearcats 62-55.

“We never stopped playing hard,” Shapiro Ord said. “And that’s what we always do and you gotta learn from these [losses].”

Traeger led Binghamton in scoring and rebounding, with 12 points and eight rebounds. She had support from Coleman and Bowman, who tallied 11 and nine points, respectively. In the loss, the Bearcats had more bench points than the River Hawks, with 20 points off the bench compared to UMass Lowell’s three. Weltz led the bench with 11 points, while Wanzer added five of her own.

“We had [points] off the bench because obviously [we were] starting the seniors,” Shapiro Ord said. “[Weltz] and Ella Wanzer came off the bench. [Wanzer] wasn’t getting a lot of opportunities to score so that was tough, but we’ll just continue to work on moving off the ball and getting her more opportunities.”

Before the game, a pregame ceremony was held in which Binghamton honored its five seniors. This included Traeger, Bowman, guard Zahra Barnes, guard Khoryn Bannis and guard Cassidy Roberts.

“They are amazing young women,” Shapiro Ord said. “The minute they stepped on this campus they changed this community in a great way.”

BU will play its final home game of the season against Vermont on Wednesday, Feb. 22. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center in Vestal, New York.