Over Thanksgiving break, the Binghamton women’s basketball team went 0-2 at Puerto Rico College Sports Tours Classico, suffering a 68-57 loss against Appalachian State on Friday and coming up short against Furman in a 74-72 defeat on Saturday.

“We played two really, really good teams,” said Binghamton head coach Bethann Shapiro Ord. “Did we have a chance to win both? Absolutely. Even though we came up short in the first [game], I thought we got better.”

In BU’s (2-5) first matchup on Friday against Appalachian State (4-1), the Mountaineers opened up the game with a quick basket. Then, sophomore guard/forward Camryn Fauria made a fadeaway jump shot to get the Bearcats on the board. Both teams went neck and neck and at the end of the first, Appalachian State held a 15-13 lead. Binghamton took the lead early in the second quarter after junior forward Genevieve Coleman drained a three-pointer. The pace of play was similar to the first as neither team was able to string together a significant run. Ultimately, the Bearcats found themselves down 28-27 heading into halftime.

“We came out a little flat,” Shapiro Ord said. “We weren’t getting some stops, and we weren’t knocking our shots down.”

Appalachian State found some separation in the third quarter, knocking down timely baskets in the final three minutes to gain some momentum. The Bearcats struggled to find their groove, shooting just 35.29 percent from the field and trailing by as much as nine in the period. Eventually, a groove would be found though, with freshman guard Bella Pucci knocking down two free throws to make it a 52-45 game heading into the final period. Good ball movement from BU to start the fourth quarter led to two quick baskets, cutting the Mountaineer lead to three. Despite this, this was the closest Binghamton managed to get, as the team suffered a 68-57 loss to Appalachian State in its opening matchup.

“Instead of spacing the floor like we did in the first half, we were starting to get really tight inside,” Shapiro Ord said. “We were starting to make passes that weren’t really there.”

Graduate student guard Denai Bowman and redshirt sophomore guard Jadyn Weltz led BU’s offensive effort with 14 and 13 points, respectively. The Bearcats struggled defensively as they were outscored 38-22 in the paint.

In its second game of the weekend against Furman (4-3), Binghamton got off to a blazing hot start, knocking down nine of its first 10 shots, including four three-pointers, to take a 22-11 lead over the Paladins. The Bearcats controlled the pace of play for the final five minutes, holding an eight-point advantage at the end of one. Weltz started the scoring for BU in the second period, driving down the paint for an uncontested layup. Although Binghamton cooled down in the second quarter, it maintained its advantage with baskets from Bowman and Weltz. In the first half, the Bearcats shot 60 percent from the field and 50 percent from beyond the arc, holding a 48-37 lead going into halftime.

“Our first quarter, we played terrific,” Shapiro Ord said. “I thought we did some really nice things in the first half.”

The momentum began to sway in the third quarter as Binghamton began to struggle offensively. BU was outscored by Furman 22-11 in the fourth period, as the Paladins tied the game at 59 going into the fourth quarter. The Bearcats’ shooting woes continued in the final period. The game came down the wire with Weltz knocking down a free throw to tie the game at 72 with under a minute left. On Furman’s next possession, the Paladins grabbed an offensive rebound and drained a jumper to take a 72-74 lead. With just three seconds left on the clock, Coleman chucked the ball from the three-point line for the potential game-winning shot, but to no avail as the Bearcats fell 74-72.

“We were just trying to do too much coming out in the third quarter,” Shapiro Ord said. “[Coleman] at least put ourselves in a situation to get an extra opportunity. Unfortunately, it didn’t go in. We just need to do better with giving [Furman] second chance opportunities and taking care of the basketball.”

Weltz had a near triple-double with 18 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Bowman added 14 points and led the way on defense with three steals. Binghamton was out-rebounded 43-22 in the loss.

“[Weltz] just does such a terrific job,“ Shapiro Ord said. “[Bowman and Weltz] are two of my leaders. Those two really tried to get us through that.”

The Bearcats will take a flight back home to take on Cornell on Wednesday, Nov. 29. Tipoff is set for 6:07 p.m. at the Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center in Vestal, New York.