As one of just two seniors on the Binghamton women’s basketball team, guard Kim Albrecht has witnessed plenty in her time as a Bearcat, most notably a coaching change that has injected life into a once-listless squad. But there is one thing that Albrecht, who solidified herself as an integral part of BU’s offense last year after a breakout junior season, has never been a part of: a win against four-time defending conference champion Albany.

During the eight games played against the Great Danes (14-3, 5-0 America East) — currently in first place of the AE standings — throughout Albrecht’s career, each has been a loss, most recently 82-49 and 75-53 blowouts last season. There was something about Monday’s 59-47 defeat, however, that deviated from the past.

This deviation can be largely attributed to the clutch performance that Albrecht put on for Binghamton (7-10, 2-2 AE), which included a season-high 20 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals. She was responsible for the Bearcats’ hot start to open the game, in which BU jumped out to a 13-2 lead in the first quarter thanks to eight points by Albrecht.

Her individual accomplishments, however, are second in her mind to those of her team.

“‘I’m just so proud of our team and of our program,” Albrecht said. “We’ve played with the top team in the conference and if we can stay with them, we can beat anybody.”

Coming out on top seemed like a plausible outcome for the Bearcats on Monday, as they headed into halftime down by a single point. BU’s defense shined in the first half, limiting Albany’s star, senior forward Shereesha Richards — who leads the America East with 24.1 points per contest — to just six points in the first half and 15 overall. Binghamton relied heavily on a 2-3 zone defense to hold the Great Danes to fewer than 60 points, becoming just the second team to do so this season.

Key to BU’s stifling of Richards was sophomore forward Alyssa James, who continues to be an imposing post player for the Bearcats. James grabbed 10 rebounds and added four blocks to anchor the Binghamton defense.

“[Richards] is definitely one of the best post players in this conference,” James said. “I think every time we play against each other, it’s going to be a big matchup,”

Making up for the absence of Richards was sophomore forward Tiana-Jo Carter, who lead the Great Danes with 18 points and junior guard Zakiya Saunders, who added 16. Albany shot 42.9 percent from the field, below its typical 48.6 percent, but well above the 30.9 field goal percentage to which it held Binghamton. Sophomore guard Imani Watkins, who consistently spearheads the BU offense went just 2-for-19 from the field to record eight points.

“We’re asking her to defend their best player, so we’re asking a lot of her,” BU head coach Linda Cimino said. “She’s really been playing unbelievable for us and today she had a night that you don’t want to have every night…She kept playing hard and she was making her teammates better.”

But Albrecht picked up the slack, shooting 6-for-10 from the floor and 4-for-6 from beyond the arc. An Albrecht 3-pointer with 8:20 remaining in regulation closed the gap to 46-45, but the Great Danes went on a 9-2 run to pull away for good.

Despite ultimately dropping the matchup, the Bearcats’ 12-point margin was the closest in a game against Albany since February 20, 2011, when BU defeated the Great Danes, 41-40.

“Our team is really coming together,” Cimino said. “I think we have great team chemistry. Whether we win or lose, we’re at a place in the program right now where we’re competitive.”

Binghamton is set to return to action on Thursday against Vermont. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Patrick Gymnasium in Burlington, Vermont.