Binghamton women’s basketball closed out its three-game home-stand season opener on Tuesday, hosting the St. Bonaventure Bonnies in their first Division I matchup of the year. Despite holding the lead for the majority of the game, the Bearcats fell to Bonaventure 68-65, marking their first loss of the 2025-26 season.

“Give St. Bonaventure a lot of credit, they came in here and they rebounded the snot out of the basketball, 15 offensive rebounds, that’s not where we need teams to be,” said Binghamton head coach Mary Grimes. “We just talked about it in the locker room, we’ve got to box out better.”

Junior guard Bella Pucci opened scoring for the game, sinking a pair of free throws and following them up with a three to give the Bearcats (2-1) an early 5-0 lead. Binghamton extended their scoring run, going up 12-0 headed into the first media timeout.

The Bonnies (3-0) ended their scoring drought with a pair of free throws, but freshman guard Ashley Redd responded with a three to extend their lead back to 12. As the clock wound down, both teams traded shots, with the scoreboard reading 17-6 as the first quarter came to an end.

“[The freshmen are] still learning, they’re still trying to figure out and understand basketball, even though the upperclassmen have that game experience,” Grimes said. “I think we’ve just got to figure out how to withstand. We got that lead, we got to just keep pushing.”

The second quarter saw St. Bonaventure open the scoring, but Binghamton responded quickly with a layup of its own. Junior guard Leah Middleton followed up the score with a three, but St. Bonaventure then went on a seven-point run, upping the score to 22-15 and forcing Binghamton to take a timeout.

The timeout didn’t stop the Bonnies’ momentum, however, as they continued tacking on points and bringing the game within two points. However, Pucci answered with a three to give the Bearcats a 25-20 lead. As the first half came to a close, the Bonnies managed to bring the score to 33-28.

“I think we were executing a little bit better offensively, you know [we scored] 65 points,” Grimes said. “I think they slowed us down a little bit, so we were able to actually score without our press. So that was showing me a lot, because previously, with our scrimmages [and] with our games, we’ve been able to turn people over and get easy buckets, so I think we grew in our half-court offense.”

Pucci once again opened the scoring for the second half, hitting a jumper to begin the third quarter and following it up with a steal and layup to put the Bearcats up 37-30. Senior guard Meghan Casey hit a three to extend Binghamton’s lead to 10 points, but a seven-point run from the Bonnies cut that lead to three.

Binghamton did not relinquish its lead, however, until under a minute remained. The Bonnies went ahead 45-44 thanks to a jumper, resulting in the Bearcats’ first time this season not holding the lead. Pucci tied the game up with a free throw, but St. Bonaventure quickly took it back with a pair of free throws. Junior forward Kendall Bennett hit a last-second layup to tie the game 47-47 as the game entered its final quarter.

“[The loss] is going to sting a little bit, and so we’re going to take it all in,” Grimes said. “But the positive is we have another game. It’s early. We’re going to garden, we’re going to grow from it.”

Bennett opened scoring for the Bearcats to begin the fourth quarter, but a score from the Bonnies ensured it remained a tie game. Pucci hit another three-pointer for the Bearcats, bringing Binghamton to a 52-49 lead. Soon trailing 60-57, a jumper from junior guard Yanniah Boyd brought the Bearcats within one, forcing a Bonnies timeout. Still trailing 65-63, Bennett hit a layup to tie the game with just over a minute left on the clock, as Binghamton took a timeout.

St. Bonaventure went up by one point thanks to a free throw with under a minute remaining. The Bonnies extended that lead to three thanks to a layup with just five seconds left, leaving the Bearcats no time to score and a final score of 68-65.

“I think it’s going to be really good for our team camaraderie,” Grimes said about the team’s upcoming road games. “Just getting away from campus, being at hotels, being around each other. Looking for a great opportunity just to do some team building opportunities on the road.”

Binghamton starts its road trip at the University of Michigan. Tipoff is set for Tuesday, Nov. 18, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, at the Crisler Center.