After winning its season opener versus Bloomsburg, the Binghamton’s women’s basketball team faced off against Siena on Thursday night and was ultimately defeated 73-64. BU started off strong on the offensive end but ultimately lost control of the game in the second and third quarters. While the Bearcats attempted to make a comeback in the final minutes of the game, they came up short as the Saints earned the victory.

“They did a tremendous job with keeping, playing at their tempo and keeping pace,” said Binghamton head coach Bethann Shapiro Ord. “That was something that, you know, we talked about.”

The Saints (2-0) got on the board first after winning the tip-off. Binghamton (1-2) responded when redshirt sophomore guard Jadyn Weltz got the ball down the court to graduate student guard Denai Bowman. With the ball loose, Bowman did not back down, fighting for it and eventually getting it to junior forward Genevieve Coleman who put Binghamton on the board with a jumper. Then, redshirt sophomore guard Ella Wanzer drew back-to-back fouls and drained all four free throws to give BU an 11-8 lead. With just under three minutes remaining, Siena tied the score. The Bearcats and Saints exchanged baskets in the final minutes of the quarter as the Saints held an 18-17 lead at the end of the first.

“You have to play every possession,” Shapiro Ord said. “You have to execute on the offense event and the defensive end, and you got [to have] a bit more energy.”

Siena got off to a hot start in the second quarter, with a 10-0 run, whereas Binghamton attempted many shots, but was unable to capitalize. After Wanzer and Bowman were both fouled and drained their free throws, Binghamton was able to finally get on the board. However, the Bearcats continued to struggle for the majority of the period, shooting just 28.57 percent from the field. BU was outscored 25-12 in the quarter and faced a 43-29 deficit heading into halftime.

“I like the positivity because I always try to take that as well,” Shapiro Ord said. “But we were playing and obviously, for whatever reason, we let other teams dictate how we play.”

Siena maintained its momentum heading into the third quarter with a 9-0 run to take a 23-point lead. Midway through the quarter, Bowman made a jump shot to stop the bleeding, making the score 52-31. The Bearcats rebounded well but their offense continued to struggle to put the ball in the basket. BU made several passes resulting in turnovers, consistently bringing the ball back to the Saints’ half. After baskets from Bowman and Coleman, Binghamton gained some momentum. However, the Bearcats still trailed 64-41 heading into the fourth quarter.

“You’ve got to remember when you’re starting games like this, you gotta focus forward,” Shapiro Ord said. “Something I learned a long time ago is you gotta just keep getting better. There shouldn’t be any reason for the lack of hustle though. So that’s a big thing that we have to adjust from tonight.”

In the final quarter of the game, freshman guard Kaylee Krysztof provided a spark off the bench as BU was able to cut into the Siena lead. As a result of a block by Coleman, the Bearcats created a turnover that led to Krysztof draining her first three-pointer of the game. Binghamton continued to crawl its way back. A made jump shot from Coleman, a free throw from Bowman, back-to-back three-pointers by Krysztof and a three-pointer from sophomore guard Meghan Casey cut the deficit to 13. Despite two more three-pointers from Krysztof, the Saints managed to survive BU’s offensive outburst in the game’s final minutes, squeezing out a 73-64 win.

“We go against our team,” Shapiro Ord said. “We play really hard against each other and compete. We play against our practice players and really compete, but for whatever reason tonight we let our offense dictate our defense or the whole game actually. We got another game in two days. We don’t harp on it, but we gotta show adjustments and then positive stuff. We’ll practice and then we’ll move on to the next game.”

BU continued nonconference play against Loyola University Maryland on Sunday, Nov. 12th. Tipoff was at 5 p.m. at the Reitz Arena in Baltimore, Maryland.