In order to keep its slim hopes of acquiring a top-3 seed in the America East tournament, the Binghamton University women’s basketball team needed a Wednesday night win at University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
The Bearcats led for most of the game’s first 29 minutes, but the offense stalled in the final 9:01, as the Retrievers finished the game on a 17-4 run to knock off Binghamton, 63-50.
Senior guard Andrea Holmes started strong for the Bearcats (12-15, 6-8 America East). After fellow senior guard Orla O’Reilly scored Binghamton’s first basket, Holmes poured in 15 of the team’s next 24 points, and the Bearcats entered halftime with a 26-24 lead.
They led by as many as six points in the first half’s final two minutes, but the Retrievers (14-12, 8-5 AE) used a 4-0 spurt to pull within two before heading into the locker room.
“I thought we kind of broke down a little bit on the defensive side of things for a possession and then didn’t get a good offensive possession the next time through,” Binghamton head coach Nicole Scholl said.
Binghamton started the second half on an 8-2 run to take a 34-26 lead with 16:26 remaining. After the teams traded baskets for the next four minutes, UMBC went on an 11-0 run to take a seven-point lead with 11:04 left. Four different Retrievers scored during the stretch, which was capped by a 3-pointer from junior Erin Brown.
“I thought UMBC kind of picked up their defense and they got a couple easy looks going to the basket, hit a couple of threes,” Scholl said. “Really, there were two 3-point shots in there that really deflated us a little bit.”
Holmes ended the 11-point UMBC run with a 3-pointer of her own, and O’Reilly and senior forward Viive Rebane each followed with a basket to knot the score at 46 with 9:18 remaining.
But then UMBC commenced its sprint to the finish. Freshman Lauren Chase started the run with a foul shot and then a bucket, and the Retrievers scored 12 unanswered points over the next five-and-a-half minutes to take a 58-46 lead.
Junior guard Mallory Lawes and sophomore guard Jasbriell Swain scored on consecutive possessions for Binghamton, but a bucket by UMBC junior Raven Harris kept the deficit at 10 points. The Bearcats mustered just two field goal attempts in the final two minutes, and UMBC held on for a 63-50 win.
Scholl said UMBC’s style of play and Binghamton’s inability to convert prevented a comeback.
“We had a couple of good looks at the basket … had some key stops that we needed, but unfortunately we just couldn’t put the ball in the basket,” she said. “Because of their style of play and how they try to slow things down, it makes it difficult when they have a lead to really come back from it.”
Holmes, who played all 40 minutes on Wednesday, led the Bearcats with 22 points on 7-of-15 shooting. She also tallied eight rebounds and a pair of assists.
“[Holmes has] been playing great, playing consistent,” Scholl said. “She’s playing a lot of minutes for us and having to do a lot, but she’s responded to that and [is] playing quite well.”
O’Reilly was the only other Bearcat in double figures, scoring 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting.
Chase and senior Michelle Kurowski scored 16 points apiece to lead the Retrievers, and Harris joined them in double figures with 10 points.
As a team, the Bearcats shot 32.1 percent from the floor and went just 2-of-10 after tying the game at 46. Turnovers also plagued the Bearcats, who gave the ball away 20 times. Holmes, O’Reilly and Rebane each had four turnovers.
“Those are losses of possessions, and we talk about that all the time,” Scholl said. “A turnover and that’s one less shot opportunity that you have. We had some crucial turnovers and just some unforced turnovers that we don’t usually make.”
Junior forward Kara Elofson and freshman forward Sherae Swinson, both of whom missed Wednesday’s game with injuries, are listed as day-to-day, but Scholl said she did not know exactly when they would return.
With just two more games remaining before the America East tournament, the Bearcats still have an opportunity to improve their seeding. However, doing so will be difficult.
Binghamton is set to visit University at Albany on Wednesday for its penultimate game of the season. The Great Danes (18-9, 12-2 AE) are in second place and have already beaten the Bearcats, albeit in a nail-biting 37-36 tilt.
On Feb. 25, the Bearcats will close out regular season play at home against University of New Hampshire, which currently sits a slot ahead of BU in the conference standings. Binghamton topped UNH on the road on Jan. 22, 64-55.
Tipoff for Wednesday’s game against Albany is set for 7 p.m. at SEFCU Arena.