Coming home after a pair of road losses, the Binghamton women’s basketball team celebrated Senior Day with a 69-44 win over UMass Lowell. The Bearcats led comfortably following a tight first quarter, never relinquishing their lead after the second quarter.

“Super proud of the team,” said Binghamton head coach Mary Grimes. “You were talking about the points in transition, the points off turnovers, that’s something that we were really trying to focus on, that we watched on film and executed.”

UMass Lowell (8-19, 2-12 AE) opened the game with the first points, but Binghamton (18-9, 10-4 AE) came back with a layup from senior guard Kaia Goode. The Bearcats went up 13-4 halfway through the first quarter, helped by two three-pointers from senior guard Meghan Casey.

The River Hawks picked up their defense and began closing the gap, scoring 10 points in the last five minutes and holding Binghamton to only four. The quarter closed with the Bearcats leading 17-15.

“It’s huge for [Goode], because she’s been there,” Grimes said. “She’s been there at the Division II level, she’s been there at the high school level, going into playoffs and understanding the gravity of the situation.”

Binghamton came back dominant in the second quarter, scoring nine points to UMass Lowell’s zero in the first four minutes, led by junior forward Kendall Bennett with two layups and a jumper. The Bearcats’ offense remained strong throughout the remainder of the half, including a three-pointer by junior guard Leah Middleton, holding the River Hawks to only seven points in the quarter. The half came to a close with a fast break by freshman guard Carletta Bennett, giving Binghamton a 36-22 lead.

The River Hawks opened the scoring in the third quarter, but the Bearcats pulled away with another free throw by Kendall Bennett. Binghamton held UMass Lowell to only five points in the first five minutes, racking up 10 points and bringing the score to 46-27.

UMass Lowell attempted to close the gap, scoring six and cutting Binghamton’s lead to 13, but layups from junior guard Bella Pucci and freshman guard Ashley Redd led the Bearcats to close the quarter with a 57-37 lead.

“Everybody knows we got the best fans in the America East,” Grimes said. “[Goode’s] family showed out today, [Casey’s] family showed out today, so it really gave us a good boost, but we have some diehards that just show up every single game and really support us.”

Despite Binghamton opening the fourth quarter with a layup from Redd, UMass Lowell picked up the pace, allowing only one basket for the first four minutes, scoring seven and dropping the Bearcats’ lead to 59-44. Following a layup from Carletta Bennett, however, Binghamton closed out the game dominantly, not allowing UMass Lowell a point for the remainder of the game. Two more free throws from Pucci brought the final score of 69-44.

Pucci led the Bearcats with 16 points, racking up 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season. Kendall Bennett scored 14 and made 15 rebounds for her 14th double-double of the season. The win not only broke a three-game loss streak, but also secured Binghamton a top-four seed in the America East Championships for the first time in six years.

“We’re definitely going to enjoy this and just really focus on how to get New Hampshire first and worry about the rest later,” Grimes said.

The Bearcats will kick off their regular-season closing road trip when they take on UNH on Thursday, Feb 26. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. at the Lundholm Gymnasium in Durham, New Hampshire.