Coming off a 59-56 loss on Saturday against Maine, the Binghamton women’s basketball team bounced back to earn a 63-58 win in America East (AE) play against NJIT on Thursday in Newark, New Jersey. After falling behind in the first half, the Bearcats were able to complete the comeback in the second half to narrowly defeat the Highlanders.

“We’re going to enjoy a minute here and then we’re gonna get on the bus,” said Binghamton head coach Bethann Shapiro Ord. “We know it’s a quick turnaround. We’ll get back late tonight and tomorrow we’ll start focusing on Vermont — or I will start tonight and my staff — and then we’ll have them ready. Hopefully we’ll get it going.”

NJIT (8-13, 0-8 AE) opened the matchup with a 6-0 run before Binghamton (8-13, 3-5 AE) got on the board with a jumper from junior forward Genevieve Coleman. Although the Bearcats struggled offensively in the early moments of the period, scoring only two points through the first five minutes, they were able to find some momentum to catch up to NJIT toward the end of the period with three pointers from redshirt sophomore guard Jadyn Weltz and freshman guard Bella Pucci. The quarter ended with the Highlanders up 17-10.

“They are the same team from last year basically, who beat us twice,” Shapiro Ord said. “We just did a really good job you know back and forth, not putting our head down and just kept going back at them.”

Despite coming from behind, Binghamton looked to flip the contest in its direction. Off an assist from Weltz, freshman forward Kendall Bennett scored two points of the second quarter with a layup. NJIT responded with a three-pointer to make the score 20-12. The Bearcats, then, made a three-point shot of their own, courtesy of redshirt sophomore guard Ella Wanzer to cut the lead to five. For the next couple of minutes, both teams exchanged baskets until Binghamton knotted the game at 24-24. BU cut the Highlanders’ lead to just two with the game at 30-28 going into the halftime.

“The nice thing about early on is I did play a lot of players,” Shapiro Ord said. “They give everything they have and that’s a testament to to all the players that stepped up. We compete every day in practice and that’s why are are able to do this at the end.”

The Bearcats looked to gain the lead in the second half as graduate student guard Denai Bowman made a layup off an assist from Coleman to tie the game. The Highlanders responded, once again, maintaining their lead. The game remained scoreless for the next four minutes as both teams struggled offensively. Both the Bearcats and the Highlanders fought to get the lead in the remaining minutes, with NJIT holding a slight advantage over BU. With 34 seconds remaining, Binghamton tied the game 41, but a free throw from the Highlands gave them a one point lead going into the final period.

The Highlanders entered the fourth quarter with a quick two points. NJIT held its lead for the majority of the last quarter until four minutes were remaining. The game then saw several lead changes and ties before a Weltz three pointer with 33 seconds remaining gave BU a 59-55 lead . With under 30 seconds to go, the Bearcats were able to secure the game at the free throw line as they escaped with a 63-58 win over NJIT.

“Coming up with some big boards and getting a stop [helped us get the win],” Shapiro Ord said. “I told them like ‘you guys can’t keep going back and forth, back and forth’ and then [Weltz] knocked down. She had the confidence to back down that three, it went in, and that was the momentum changer right there.

Bowman had a double-double with 16 points and 11 boards to lead BU. Weltz added 15 points and 6 assists of her own. Though Binghamton only shot 32.4 percent from the field, the Bearcats managed to scrape out the victory on the road over the Highlanders.

“[Bowman] does so much more than just scoring for us,” Shapiro Ord said. “Her defense is incredible. You don’t see all her numbers although she did get a double-double which is great. We had two people with double-doubles. She just does such a good job, and her confidence out there for her teammates helps so much too.”

Binghamton will continue AE play at home on Saturday, Feb. 3 against the University of Vermont. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Dr. Bai Lee Court in Vestal, New York.