Binghamton’s women’s basketball finished its road trip on Wednesday with a matchup at San Diego, where they managed to pull away with a 63-55 win. Freshman guard Ashley Redd had a breakout game for the Bearcats, putting up career highs in points and rebounds.

“Everything’s not always going to be a 20-point win or anything like that, we’ve got to be able to grind things out,” Binghamton head coach Mary Grimes said. “I think that’s what we did at the end of the game — we grinded it out. We held their best player to five points. I know we gave up 25 to somebody else, but I think our team did a good job on locking in and not letting that kid score.”

San Diego (3-6) opened the scorebook between the two teams with a pair of free throws, starting off with a 2-0 lead. A layup from junior forward Kendall Bennett quickly tied the game, and a jumper from Redd put Binghamton (4-3) ahead with a lead they would not relinquish for the remainder of the half. The two teams continued to trade points, and another jumper from Redd concluded scoring for the first quarter as both teams’ offenses slowed, with Binghamton ahead 12-6.

While San Diego also opened scoring for the second quarter, an eight-point run from Binghamton put them up 20-8, in part thanks to a pair of threes from junior guard Bella Pucci and Redd. The Toreros responded with a 13-2 run, bringing the game within one point, but a layup from freshman guard Carletta Bennett finished their run. As both teams tacked on points and the clock wound down, the score read 28-24 for Binghamton headed into the second half.

“[The road trip] was timely for us, I think we needed it just to build our culture, build our team bonding,” Grimes said. “And we were able to do that the past four games. And so I think it really showed on the court today. We all came together as a team.”

San Diego opened the third quarter with a seven-point scoring run, going up 31-28, taking its first lead of the game since the opening minutes. A pair of free throws from Redd brought the Bearcats back, and they eventually took a 34-33 lead courtesy of Redd. Both teams continued to trade blows, with Binghamton holding a 43-39 lead as they headed into the final quarter.

The fourth quarter was highly contentious to start, with no team scoring more than twice in a row. However, the Bearcats pulled ahead, holding a 61-50 lead with just over a minute remaining. San Diego attempted to rally late, scoring five in a row and bringing the game within six, but a pair of free throws from Carletta Bennett with just a few seconds remaining sealed the Toreros’ fate and secured the win for Binghamton.

“[San Diego’s] a really good team, especially in the third quarter, that’s their best quarter,” Grimes said. “So they came out on fire, and I think we withstood that and were able to defend a lot better in that second half of that third quarter.”

Kendall Bennett was Binghamton’s lead scorer with 12 points, while also leading the team in blocks with three. Junior guard Leah Middleton, Carletta Bennett and Redd each put up 11 points for the team. Carletta Bennett led the team in assists with seven, Redd led the team in rebounds with five and Pucci rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.

“[Pucci and Middleton] just have ice in their veins,” Grimes said, commenting on two late-game three-pointers from the pair. “It was huge threes for us to hit and gave us the momentum we needed to get over the hump.”

The Bearcats will return home on Saturday, Dec. 6, as they host Buffalo in Rivalry Weekend. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Dr. Bai Lee Court in Vestal, New York.