When sophomore guard Imani Watkins of the Binghamton women’s basketball team drained two three-pointers and a layup in a span of 26 seconds in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s win over UMass Lowell (4-23, 1-14 America East), there was a single thought on her mind: refuse to lose.
“I told [my teammates] we weren’t going to lose this game and that we had to refuse to lose,” Watkins said. “One of our assistant coaches says that all the time, ‘refuse to lose’ and that’s what we did today.”
Despite being tabbed to finish last in the AE, Binghamton has come out on top in half of its 2016 conference match-ups. This was the story once again on Saturday, as BU overcame a double-digit deficit to UML for the second time this year.
Down by 13 headed into the final quarter, it seemed as though the Bearcats were about to be defeated by the last-place River Hawks, who have earned just one conference win this season. Watkins’ 8-0 run, however, sparked the kind of narrow victory that has been the signature of the Bearcats this season. Watkins’ clutch fourth quarter play highlighted her game-high 21 points. Although some watching may have counted the Bearcats out after they had fallen behind, BU’s comeback and Watkins’ performance, didn’t surprise BU head coach Linda Cimino.
“Imani is one of the toughest competitors I have ever coached,” Cimino said. “The thing I like about her is she takes constructive criticism very well. When things aren’t going well or when some of her teammates aren’t doing what I want them to do, I can kind of go at Imani and she listens and she puts it on her shoulders.”
The last five minutes of regulation saw two lead changes and three ties. After Watkins’ run put the Bearcats back in contention, sophomore forward Alyssa James went on a run of her own, netting five unanswered points to give BU its first lead, 51-50, since the beginning of the second quarter. With less than a minute remaining, the River Hawks took the lead once more on a free throw, but a James layup and four perfect shots from the free-throw line sealed the victory for Binghamton.
“I’ve never been more proud of a team and the comeback that we just had,” Cimino said. “That was probably the best comeback win I’ve ever been a part of and hopefully we can carry that momentum into our next game.”
Cimino attributed her team’s improved play in the fourth quarter to the strong defense that has been the cornerstone of Binghamton’s victories this season. In BU’s first match-up with UML in January, the Bearcats pulled out a thrilling 75-70 overtime victory. Binghamton was able to hold the River Hawks to almost 20 fewer points on Saturday by using the press more effectively.
“Last time we played [the River Hawks] and pressed them, they went over the top and scored easy layups, so that’s why we didn’t use it,” Cimino said.
In the fourth quarter, however, BU turned its press back on to try and surmount its double-digit deficit.
“We press a lot but because we don’t have the depth and we had a couple of fouls early on, we choose not to press unless we absolutely need it and we needed it today to get back in the game,” Cimino said.
The press helped Binghamton force 21 turnovers, nine of which came in the final quarter. James was an imposing defensive presence in the post, recording four blocks in the game.
Binghamton is set to return to action against UMBC on Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at the Events Center in Vestal, New York.