The Binghamton women’s basketball team held the lead for only 29 seconds in a disappointing loss to Villanova Sunday, something that has become far too familiar in the past month for the Bearcats.
BU (2-7) suffered its fifth straight loss yesterday to the Villanova Wildcats (5-5) by the score of 59-40 in front of a packed Events Center. The Big East team took control within the first two minutes and led by double digits throughout the entire second half.
Binghamton was in the game early, trailing by three or fewer points for the first five minutes. However, by halftime the Wildcats had pulled away and dominated for the rest of the game.
“We have to play for the whole twenty minute half,” said junior forward Brianna Thompson. “We’re getting a couple of buckets and then we let it up. We need more solid play for the whole 20 minutes.”
The Bearcats were able to hold Villanova scoreless for the first five minutes of the second half, but the defense broke soon after and allowed Villanova to win by the 19-point margin. BU failed to put a point on the board during a seven minute stretch in the second half.
Still, there were bright spots from the game. Despite playing without their top scorer, junior guard Laura Sario, as well as senior point guard Shea Kenny, the Bearcats were able to commit fewer turnovers and record more blocks than Villanova.
“We executed, worked harder and played better as a team,” said sophomore forward Laura Franceski. “That is the most important thing for us. Our playing better together will reflect well in our future games.”
The crowd of 2,350 saw solid play from Franceski, who was the team’s top scorer, racking up 11 points and five rebounds. Junior center Juta Jahilo contributed with a game-high 13 rebounds, and freshman guard Erica Carter, who made her second career start, had eight points and two assists. For the Wildcats, sophomore forward Briana Weiss had a big day, contributing a game-high 16 points, as did senior forward Jackie Adamshick, who pulled in a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
“We executed a lot better than we have been,” said head coach Rich Conover. “I can see improvement in our organization. We’ll have these next few days of finals to recharge. I’m confident for our remaining games this month.”
Junior guard Laura Sario missed her second straight game with a knee injury. She is expected to miss four to six weeks while her knee recovers. She is averaging 10.7 ppg. Sario, along with Kenny who is out with an injured foot, were clearly missed during yesterday’s game.
“They’re a big part of the team,” Franceski said of Sario and Kenny. “They’re our leaders. We just have to fill up their spots for now and do the best we can.”
The Bearcats will have a week to prepare for their next game against Colgate, Saturday at 1 p.m.
Basketball over Break: The Bearcats have some key games coming up over winter break, including the beginning of conference play and another Big East match-up against local rival Syracuse. If you’ll be in the Binghamton area over break, make sure to come cheer on the team as they host Syracuse on Dec. 30, and also as they open up their conference play against Albany on Jan. 4, and New Hampshire on Jan. 10.