After a 79-55 loss at Albany last Saturday, the Binghamton women’s basketball team fell 68-54 to Bryant on Saturday afternoon. After a high-scoring affair early, the Bearcats were unable to claw back, suffering their third straight defeat to fall below .500 in America East conference play.

“Bryant did a really good job of feeding their big players inside,” said Binghamton head coach Mary Grimes. “They’ve put together two really good games back to back. Kudos to them, we’ve just got to figure out how to fight right from the start and not let our missed layups snowball for the whole 40 minutes.”

Both the Bearcats (11-9, 3-4 AE) and Bulldogs (11-9, 4-3 AE) came out swinging. Through the first five minutes, the two teams traded baskets, with sophomore guard Bella Pucci providing BU’s first two points. After an offensive foul against Binghamton, the in-conference foes continued to keep the score close. While Bryant led by as many as five, by the end of the first, the Bulldogs’ lead had narrowed to 20-18.

“We’ve got to adjust as the game is being called,” Grimes said. “If they’re not gonna call it, we’re going to have to just stay our ground a lot better. I think we did a good job taking the charge when [Bryant] were overly physical.”

The second quarter opened with Bryant going on a 4-0 run to start the period. But yet again, Binghamton fell victim to foul trouble. After a foul against BU, Bryant parlayed some momentum into a 9-0 run, which junior guard Kaia Goode ended with a free throw. The Bearcats found their footing toward the end of the quarter, with sophomore guard Yanniah Boyd hitting a long three that kickstarted a 7-0 run for BU which took them into halftime down 38-30.

“I think [Bryant] just got a lot more physical in the second quarter,” Grimes said. “We have to be able to embrace that physicality. I think that’s what it was, we have got to be able to take hits and continue to finish. We need to make plays and we’re going to have to shoot the ball better.”

The second half began with several scoreless possessions to start. Bryant finally opened the scoring with a short two, but junior guard/forward Camryn Fauria answered with a two of her own. Toward the end of the quarter, Bryant’s offensive fouls on successive possessions allowed the Bearcats to regain momentum, with the kicker being a three from Goode to cut the Bryant lead to seven. A Bryant bucket in the final two minutes saw BU go into the fourth quarter down 46-37.

“I think when it’s clicking it’s clicking,” Grimes said. “We’ve preached just playing off of each other and understanding where our teammates are and where the defense is. When we are able to understand the offense and trust each other defensively, I think that’s when we look our best.”

The fourth quarter started well for the Bearcats, with Pucci providing their first points via a layup. Bryant answered right back, though, and the two teams traded possessions throughout the first half of the final quarter. As the quarter wound down, though, Bryant pulled away. Despite a late run that pulled them within 10, BU could not complete a comeback, falling to the Bulldogs 68-54.

“Having a little bit more fight on the boards is where we’ve got to go from here,” Grimes said.

As a team, the Bearcats struggled offensively, shooting 32.2 percent from the field and 30 percent from beyond the arc. Goode led BU in scoring, with 12 points. Defensively, BU held Bryant to a 43.5 percent shooting percentage on the day, with the Bulldogs shooting 33.3 percent from three. Bryant was also able to out-rebound Binghamton 47 to 32.

“My expectation is to beat Vermont,” Grimes said. “They’ve already been here, we understand that they’re going to be just as physical or maybe even more physical than Bryant, so we have to embrace it and not just take it.”

The Bearcats will look to snap its three-game skid on Thursday, Jan. 30 against Vermont. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. at Patrick Gymnasium in Burlington, Vermont.