Sherae Swinson never expected to be leading the 2012-13 Binghamton women’s basketball team, but, after making just a single start last season, that is exactly where the sophomore finds herself heading into this weekend’s America East tournament.

Swinson closed out the regular season as the Bearcats’ leading scorer, averaging over 10 points per game to make her the only Binghamton player among the top 20 in the conference in scoring.

Playing an average of only 15 minutes per game last season, Swinson emerged as one of Binghamton’s key players in 2012-13, totaling 831 minutes of action, second-most on the team.

The change, according to Swinson, came largely as a result of the transformed team dynamic and a new boost in confidence.

BU lost its top three scorers to graduation after the 2011-12 season, leaving behind several gaping holes begging to be filled.

“I [knew] that I had nothing to lose coming into this season since we lost a lot of seniors last year and we needed some more leadership,” Swinson said. “So I decided to step up.”

The decision paid off quickly as Swinson saw almost more than double her normal minutes in Binghamton’s season-opener and set a new career high in scoring (12 points) in the team’s second game of the year. In Game No. 3, Swinson raised the bar again, leading all scorers with 23 points against Austin Peay.

She quickly was beginning to believe in herself.

“It was a lot about the confidence this year, because I didn’t have a lot of confidence last year,” Swinson said. “If you don’t really get playing time, it hurts your confidence, but when coach [Nicole Scholl] gave me a chance to play, my confidence boosted.”

The forward went on to break double-digits in scoring a team-high 14 times, leading the Bearcats in points 13 times and in rebounding six times.

Seemingly out of nowhere, the soft-spoken Swinson found herself in the unexpected role of leader.

“I really didn’t imagine this at all. I’ve never been, like, a leading scorer on a team before so it’s all brand new to me,” she said. “But I’m having fun.”

Swinson said the role was a little uncomfortable at first, especially as only a sophomore, but she credited Scholl for giving her the confidence and encouraging her to shoot more.

Describing herself as “not really talkative,” Swinson said she leads more by doing than saying.

“I can be vocal on the court, like calling out screens and stuff,” she said. “But I think I lead mostly by example, by doing what coach says and working hard in practice.”

Despite all the leading she has been doing this year, Swinson still watches, soaking in what she can from the older, more experienced players on the team. She looks up to and learns from players like junior guard Jasbriell Swain, senior forward Kara Elofson and senior guard Mallory Lawes.

“Jas works hard no matter what,” Swinson said. “She dives on the floor, she … risks her body for steals and rebounds and stuff. [I look up to] Kara because she works hard. Even though she’s undersized, she still posts even though she might not get the ball. And Mal because she just … works hard every day. Coach even says it in the locker room all the time. Mal never gives up at all.”

Two of those three players will be gone come next season, but Binghamton is a relatively young team with potential to be real contenders down the road. Swinson said she believes that in a year or two, the Binghamton women’s basketball team could be “very good” if it keeps heading in the same direction.

Wherever the next two years take them, the Bearcats will have a leader in Swinson. And as she settles further into the reality of her new role, Swinson might just continue to surprise herself.