Binghamton women’s basketball hit the road to take on the No. 2-seeded University of Maine in the America East semifinals, falling 60-56 and bringing the season to a close. Despite bringing in more rebounds and shooting a higher percentage from the field, Maine shot 14 additional free throws, which ultimately proved to be the Bearcats’ downfall.

“I don’t know if there’s anything that I did particularly to give these guys some fight and resilience — I think that’s who they are,” said Binghamton head coach Mary Grimes. “I think that’s who they have in them and that’s why they fight. So hats off to Maine, this is a great environment for women’s basketball in general.”

Maine (19-12, 12-4 AE) was quick to get out to a 4-0 lead, but a three from junior guard Bella Pucci soon put Binghamton (19-12, 10-6 AE) ahead 5-4. Over the next several minutes of play, both teams traded buckets, with neither team able to pull away with a substantial lead. A layup from Pucci gave Binghamton a 15-12 lead with just over a minute remaining, but a three-pointer from Maine tied the game up as the first quarter came to a close.

Junior guard Yanniah Boyd opened the second quarter with a pair of layups, but Maine answered both baskets. The quarter continued to go back and forth, but a six-point run put the Black Bears ahead 27-21, which ended with a three-pointer from Pucci. Maine managed to tack on one more layup before the period ended, going up 29-24 as the game headed into the third quarter.

“I think we were so focused on not giving up threes that when [senior guard Sarah Talon] (2) drove, we weren’t in the gap and we didn’t help [junior forward Kendall Bennett] out enough,” Grimes said. “But it’s not like they scored a ton of points. It’s a four-point game, so it really could have went either way.”

The Black Bears carried their momentum into the second half, shooting ahead 33-24 and forcing a Bearcat timeout. Binghamton was unable to cut into the Black Bear lead for the remainder of the third quarter, trailing by a score of 44-34 thanks to a buzzer-beater three-pointer from Maine.

Binghamton opened the fourth quarter with an 8-2 scoring run, coming within four of their hosts, the closest they got to the Black Bears in the half. Both teams continued to fight hard, as Maine held a narrow 51-47 lead with under one minute remaining. Free throws from Maine with under 30 seconds remaining put the game beyond reach.

Although both teams continued to trade points as the game came to a close, the Bearcats were unable to take the lead, falling at a final score of 60-56.

“[Pucci] just kept getting confidence as it went,” Grimes said. “She understood that she was the player, she was the person that we needed to go to and she just accepted it.”

Pucci was the team’s leading scorer, scoring 24 points and tallying three rebounds and two assists. Boyd and freshman guard Carletta Bennett were the team’s only other double-digit scorers, each notching 10 points and combining for five rebounds. Kendall Bennett led the team in rebounds with eight, matching that with eight points on the board and recording the team’s only two blocks of the game.

“I definitely think it was a growth year for us,” Grimes said. “ I don’t think anybody expected us to be here except us. So I think it gave them a little bit of belief of what we can look forward to.”

With Monday’s loss, the Bearcats’ season comes to a close. Despite being projected sixth in the America East in the preseason polls, Binghamton outperformed expectations with a third-place finish in the regular season. (3) The team’s home playoff game marked the first time they had hosted one since 2020.