In its lowest-scoring game of the season, the Binghamton women’s basketball team dropped its third straight America East (AE) conference matchup with a 51-38 loss at Vermont on Thursday night.

“I thought we did a tremendous job in the second half with not giving them second chance opportunities,” said Binghamton head coach Bethann Shapiro Ord. “We gave them too many second chance opportunities in the first quarter, that was tough.”

A minute into the matchup, the Catamounts (12-7, 4-1 AE) started the scoring. Binghamton (5-12, 0-4 AE) quickly responded on the other end as sophomore forward Camryn Fauria finished a layup in the paint to tie things up. Junior forward Genevieve Coleman scored BU’s next six points to make it 8-3. After a slow start for both teams, the Bearcats and Catamounts picked up the scoring, exchanging baskets. At the end of the first quarter, the Bearcats led 13-8.

“After the first timeout, I thought we did a better job sharing the ball, reversing it, getting it inside,” Shapiro Ord said.

Binghamton and Vermont traded baskets to begin the second period. The pace of play quickened as the Catamounts managed to cut the Binghamton lead to one. However, graduate student guard Denai Bowman drained a pull up jump shot to extend the lead back to three. Eventually, Vermont strung together a brief run to take a 20-19 lead, hitting a long two with the shot clock expiring. The Catamounts drained a three-pointer with the second quarter winding down to take a 23-21 lead into the half.

“We have to be better at flowing,” Shapiro Ord said. “Really getting to two sides, especially when people are packing in a little bit…so [redshirt sophomore guard Ella Wanzer] is not just in the corner standing there, she’s gotta keep moving within our offense.“

The second half began with an offensive flurry from both teams. With the game tied at 29 nearly midway through the first half, BU and Vermont continued to go back and forth. Despite the Catamounts gaining some momentum and taking a slight lead, baskets from redshirt sophomore guard Jadyn Weltz and Coleman allowed Binghamton stay within striking distance. Going into the final period, Binghamton trailed 37-31, facing its largest deficit of the game.

Coleman cut the Vermont lead to four with a layup to begin the final period. However, the Catamounts came right back with buckets of their own, building on its momentum from the third quarter to take a 44-33 lead with just five minutes remaining. Wanzer stopped the bleeding after draining a three-pointer off an assist from Weltz. The Bearcats’ efforts would ultimately come up short as the Catamounts maintained their lead and pulled away to secure a 51-38 victory.

“[Baskets] just weren’t falling,” Shapiro Ord said. “But I didn’t feel like we were in a good flow offensively.”

Coleman was the only Bearcat in double figures, with 17 points and six boards. On the defensive end, Fauria and Weltz added two steals each while Bowman recorded three steals and a block. BU struggled offensively, shooting 2-of-21 from beyond the arc and just 32.1 percent from the field.

“People being ready to shoot it [is crucial],“ Shapiro Ord said. “[Coleman] did a tremendous job tonight having six rebounds and having some crucial offensive boards which she finished.”

Binghamton will search for its first win of AE play on the road against UMass Lowell on Saturday, Jan. 20. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at the Tsongas Center in Lowell, Massachusetts.