Binghamton women’s basketball went back on the road on Thursday, taking on Bryant University, where they made a miraculous comeback and won an overtime thriller 66-64. Despite being held to just 10 points in the first half, the Bearcats managed to claw their way back from defeat and take down the Bulldogs.

“I think we can say at this point in the season that the press does wear people down, and I think we stayed with it,” said Binghamton head coach Mary Grimes. “We didn’t trap as much as we liked early, and then we went to it in the second half and I think that’s what changed it.”

Bryant (14-7, 4-4 AE) was first to get on the scoreboard with a pair of threes, shooting out to a 6-0 lead, but an and-one from freshman guard Carletta Bennett put the Bearcats (15-6, 7-1 AE) on the board to make it 6-3. Bryant responded, scoring nine unanswered points to go up 15-3, holding Binghamton scoreless for the remainder of the first quarter.

Senior guard Meghan Casey ended Binghamton’s scoring drought with a three at the start of the second quarter, but Bryant quickly responded with two more layups, forcing a Binghamton timeout in an attempt to slow the bleeding at 19-6. The timeout did little to help, however, with the Bulldogs outscoring Binghamton 7-4 in the remainder of the half and building a 26-10 lead as the clock expired.

“[Bryant’s] a team that does that,” Grimes said. “If you look at their games, they start out hot and then you kind of have to weather the storm, but unbelievable job. [Junior forward] Kendall Bennett, I kept saying that in the first half we’ve got to get her the ball, we’ve got to get her the ball and I think our guards were just hesitant.”

Kendall Bennett opened scoring in the second half with an and-one layup, but Bryant once again quickly responded. Bryant outscored Binghamton 9-2 over the next several minutes, taking a 35-15 lead as Binghamton called another timeout. Binghamton then exploded offensively, outscoring Bryant 13-3, but a buzzer-beater three-pointer helped keep Bryant in control at the end of the third. An and-one from junior guard Bella Pucci helped to kick off a seven-point scoring run for Binghamton as they continued to claw their way back in the fourth.

Coming out of a timeout, Pucci scored seven straight Bearcat points, followed by Kendall Bennett with a five-point run to make it 56-54 and bring the team within two. After a single free throw from Bryant, Casey hit a huge three to tie the game at 57-57, forcing overtime.

“We are riding [Casey’s] coattails right now,” Grimes said. “Her and [senior guard Kaia Goode]. Every time we have a practice, every time we have a game, I keep mentioning, this is their last time at Bryant or this is their last so-and-so. She’s playing like a senior who wants to win a championship and that’s why she hit that shot.”

Both teams traded points for most of overtime as Bryant led 64-63 with just under two minutes remaining. Carletta Bennett drove into the paint and hit a layup to put Binghamton up by one and forcing a Bryant timeout with 20 seconds remaining. Right after the timeout, Bryant fouled Kendall Bennett, who had just forced a turnover, allowing her to hit a pair of successful free throws and secure an incredible comeback victory for Binghamton at a score of 66-64.

Kendall Bennett led the team in scoring with 24 points and contributed six rebounds, four blocks and four steals. Carletta Bennett and Pucci each contributed 14 points, with an additional seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals from Bennett. Rounding out the leading scorers was Casey, who put up 10 points and had a pair of rebounds and assists.

“It’s unbelievable that we’re making history for our university,” Grimes said. “I’m just trying to make [Binghamton athletic director Eugene Marshall] proud every time we go out there and prove that he hired the right person.”

Binghamton is returning home on Thursday, Feb. 5 to host UMBC, its lone conference loss thus far. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:07 p.m. at the Dr. Bai Lee Court in Vestal, New York.