The Binghamton women’s basketball team fell 67-48 to UNH on Thursday afternoon following a 69-44 victory over UMass Lowell on last Saturday’s Senior Day. After being outscored 40-24 through the second and third quarters, the Bearcats failed to claw back in the fourth, ultimately falling to the Wildcats.

“This was a crazy environment,” said Binghamton head coach Mary Grimes. “This was very loud, and it’s going to be loud at Maine in the pit. They bring their band, they bring their football team. So being able to think in the chaos is something that we’ve got to overcome.”

Binghamton (18-10, 10-5 AE) and UNH (9-19, 3-12 AE) scored on their opening possessions, but the Bearcats jumped to an early advantage after a three from junior guard Bella Pucci. The Bearcats continued to pad their lead, with layups from junior guard Yanniah Boyd and Pucci making the game 11-4. Senior guard Meghan Casey added a mid-range jumper and a make from beyond the arc, bringing the score to 16-8. However, by the end of the quarter, the Wildcats drilled consecutive layups to trim Binghamton’s lead to 16-12.

The Bearcats opened the second quarter with a steal and bucket from Pucci, but the Wildcats fought to deadlock the match at 20-20 with a 6-0 run. A corner three from Pucci re-established control for the Bearcats, but the Wildcats struck back with two of their own to take their first lead of the night. Although the Bearcats tied things up once more after a pair of free throws from junior forward Kendall Bennett, the final points of the half came courtesy of UNH as they led 31-29.

“That’s coaching, you got to figure it out,” Grimes said. “And so far so good with [Kendall Bennett] and [Pucci], because they’re way better than they were last year. So we got to bring some people along.”

Although the first score of the second half came courtesy of Kendall Bennett with a layup, UNH responded with a 6-0 run to go ahead 37-31. Baskets from Casey and senior guard Kaia Goode helped keep Binghamton within a possession of their hosts, but once more, the Wildcats struck back with a long scoring run.

After Kendall Bennett ended the run with a layup, UNH sank four consecutive free throws to lead 52-38 with 21 seconds left in the period. Hoping to string together a comeback, freshman guard Carletta Bennett dropped in a layup as the buzzer rang.

“I can’t coach them every single possession,” Grimes said. “I can try to adjust the press, but when those moments happen, when they’re able to drive, they got to be able to attack. So give a lot of credit for playing that zone and just stifling us.”

Binghamton continued where it left off, scoring on its first possession of the final quarter, but a 7-2 run from the Wildcats left the Bearcats trailing by 15. Despite Binghamton’s efforts, UNH responded to every Bearcat score, and a singular UNH free-throw in the final minute of the game cemented the Binghamton loss at 67-48.

Despite shooting 40.5 percent from the field, the Bearcats struggled defensively, allowing UNH to shoot 61.5 percent from the field and 50 percent from beyond the arc. Ball security was also an area of concern for Binghamton, as it surrendered 19 turnovers. Pucci led the Bearcats with 12 points, and Kendall Bennett also reached double-digits with 10 points while adding eight rebounds.

“I said they’re desperate for a win, and I was hoping it wasn’t against us,” Grimes said.

The Bearcats will close out their regular season in a battle at Maine for the second seed in the America East Quarterfinals on Saturday, Feb. 28. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. at the Skip Chapelle Court at Memorial Gymnasium in Orono, Maine.