As the Valentine’s Day blizzard blitzed the Southern Tier, the Binghamton women’s basketball team rolled like snowballs.

In front of a sparse crowd at the Events Center, the Bearcats (9-15, 5-6 AE) nipped the UMBC Retrievers (11-14, 4-8 AE) 68-65, producing a total team effort. The 150 fans in attendance witnessed a very crisp, back-and-forth struggle.

The Bearcats placed three players in double figures on the evening. Juniors Laine Kurpniece and Laura Sario led the way for BU with 14 points apiece, and senior guard Rebecka Lindgren added 10 of her own, including two critical free throws with 21.1 seconds remaining to cap the night’s scoring. UMBC had an opportunity to tie the game with a 3-pointer on the final possession, but sophomore forward Laura Franceski swatted away two last-second shots behind the arc from Retrievers guard Morgan Hatten and center Mackenzie Butler to secure the victory.

‘Last night everyone who was in there contributed, and that’s what we need,’ head coach Rich Conover said. ‘Hopefully as we go down the stretch we can get more contributions on a regular basis.’

All eight Bearcats who saw game action put points on the scoreboard. Brianna Thompson, who barely missed a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds, led BU in a critical stretch as the second half got underway. Thompson erased a 36-31 UMBC lead almost single-handedly, scoring eight of her nine points in the first 2:49 after the intermission.

‘She’s certainly emerging as one of our go-to players,’ Conover said. ‘We needed a spark, and she certainly provided it with her outstanding play at the beginning of the second half. For her to play that well in that stretch helped us and got us back on track.’

The tense battle stayed remarkably close for the full 40 minutes, as neither team could break out to any lead larger than six points at any juncture. Despite BU’s inspired play, UMBC stood determined not to go back to Baltimore with a loss after traveling several hours through fierce weather conditions. Senior forward Sharri Rohde, one of the most versatile players in the America East, put the Retrievers on her back, posting 19 points and 12 rebounds.

‘She [Rohde] is an outstanding player,’ Conover said on the postgame radio show. ‘She’s an all-conference player, possibly first-team all conference. Every time we made a run, she made a play to keep them in the game.’

But Rohde’s efforts could not prevent the Bearcats from making the decisive run. After Butler hit a layup to put the Retrievers up 59-58 with 4:30 remaining, the Bearcats took charge, scoring seven straight points. Kurpniece, the seventh best free-throw shooter in the America East, proved her worth from the line by hitting two crucial foul shots to put the Bearcats up one. Sario then took the game over, hitting two free throws and the biggest 3-pointer of the night, with 2:34 remaining, to put BU up 65-59. They never trailed again.

Despite playing with a lead, the final minute had its tense moments. With 44.6 seconds left and the Bearcats up 65-61, senior captain Shea Kenny, who turned in a terrific effort of eight points and eight rebounds, missed the first end of a one-and-one free throw opportunity. Ten seconds later, Franceski fouled Rohde, who connected on one of two foul shots. Hatten was then forced to foul Thompson, and she converted only one free-throw attempt as well, giving the Bearcats a 66-62 lead.

The Retrievers rushed down the court, and senior point guard Brittnie Hughes swished a clutch 3-pointer to cut the Binghamton lead to one at 66-65. But Lindgren’s calm, composed leadership late in the game came through from the charity stripe and on defense as her free throws set the final margin, and her shutdown defense on the final UMBC possession helped secure the BU victory.

The win kept the Bearcats in fifth place, and just one game out of third.

Conover finally got a chance to exhale when the scoreboard read triple zeroes.

‘UMBC is a tough team and they play a different style than anyone else in the league,’ Conover said. ‘To come out with a victory against them is always rewarding, and you do breathe a sigh of relief and feel fortunate to move on to your next game.’