After beating Bloomsburg in its 2021-22 exhibition game, the Binghamton women’s basketball team hosted Siena on Tuesday night to open its season. The game stayed competitive deep into the fourth quarter, but BU ultimately pulled out a 59-55 victory over the Saints.

“I’m so proud of this team,” said Binghamton head coach Bethann Shapiro Ord. “They showed their toughness and that’s what I’ve been looking for. They just gritted it out … This Siena team is so much more improved. It’s a new head coach and he does a terrific job, but I’ll tell you that these girls really just gutted it out.”

Siena (0-1) won its only exhibition game against Dominican, putting 99 points past the Chargers. However, against the Bearcats (1-0), the Saints’ point total was nearly cut in half.

The first few minutes of the matchup began with cold shooting by both sides until Siena drew first blood on a layup. Binghamton initially struggled to respond as Siena went up 7-2 but then found its footing to post a 15-point run and take the lead at 17-7.

Although up 17-11 at the beginning of the second quarter, Binghamton’s lead eventually disappeared. Siena clawed back, posting its own 12-point run to lead 19-17 midway in the second. The teams traded the lead seven times for the remainder of the quarter until Siena finished 26-25 over the home side.

Binghamton started the third period of play with another bout of scoring, driving 16 unanswered points past Siena. The run was initiated by freshman forward Genevieve Coleman, who landed a two-point jump shot to get the ball rolling for the Bearcats.

“We’ve had a little adversity with our numbers, and now [Coleman] is our big,” Shapiro Ord said. “We’ve asked her to step up and play a lot of minutes as a freshman, and I think they just have to be ready because it’s all hands on deck when you’re down in numbers.”

Despite regaining some momentum, the 41-28 scoreline in favor of the Bearcats diminished throughout the remainder of the quarter, eventually ending 43-42 with Siena just one point away from tying up the match yet again.

With the Saints right on their tails, the Bearcats were forced to battle out the final period right to the buzzer. With 21 seconds left on the clock, Binghamton was up by two points at 57-55. Following a Bearcat timeout, junior guard Zahra Barnes was fouled on the Siena end and landed a free throw to grab an extra point for BU. Seconds later, Barnes was fouled again, stepping up to the line for the second time in less than 10 seconds. While Barnes missed her second free throw, her first landed cleanly in the basket, and the four-point lead from Binghamton was too much for Siena to surmount.

“We do [free throws] every day in practice, same old thing,” Barnes said. “I just had to tune out the crowd, tune out the pressure and knock down free throws the way we always do in practice.”

Barnes hit double-digits in scoring by the final buzzer, earning 10 points for her side. Coleman also posted another nine. However, no BU player came within even half of junior guard Denai Bowman’s point tally of 23.

“The fans really helped us out, it was an experience,” Bowman said. “Having my teammates, having our fans, having that home-court advantage really helped us secure that win.”

Bowman’s previous career-high in scoring was 22 points. Her new high of 23 was partly thanks to a perfect night from the line, shooting nine-for-nine.

“When we needed a bucket, [Bowman] just took it on herself,” Shapiro Ord said. “Her defense is tremendous, but her offense tonight was excellent.”

All of Binghamton’s matchups for the remainder of November are set to be in front of the home crowd.

BU is next scheduled to play Canisius on Saturday, Nov. 13. Tipoff is set for 12 p.m. at the Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center in Vestal, New York.