Using its dynamic 3-point shooter, an effective zone defense and key rebounds in crunch time, the Binghamton University women’s basketball team was able to stave off a late Albany comeback and secure its fourth conference victory.
The Bearcats (8-13, 4-4 America East) held off the last-place Great Danes (7-14, 0-8 AE) on Saturday afternoon, clinching a 65-60 victory at the Events Center. The win gave Binghamton its first back-to-back victories of the season.
Senior guard Erica Carter led the attack for the Bearcats, hitting on five of her 12 3-point attempts and finishing with a game-high 21 points. Sophomore forward Viive Rebane put up a big double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore guard Andrea Holmes hit only one field goal, but contributed eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals.
The Bearcats held a 10-point lead early in the second half and kept a steady lead until the 12:11 mark, when Albany went on a 7-2 run to pull within three. After the Bearcats rebuilt a seven-point lead, the Great Danes chipped away and made it a 61-60 game with just over a minute left. Then Holmes missed a 3-pointer, and an Albany possession would have given the Great Danes a chance to take the lead. But Rebane came up with a big offensive board and junior Jackie Ward hit a jumper to give the Bearcats a three-point cushion. Albany then missed a layup, and Carter grabbed the rebound and sank two free throws to seal the game.
“I think the main reason why we kept our lead was offensive rebounding,” Carter said.
“It’s been a major focus since the beginning when we were having some problems with it,” Scholl said of the team’s effort on the glass. “Rebounding out of a zone is difficult, and we spent some time on that, and I thought overall our players did a nice job with it.”
In order to keep the Albany offense in check, Binghamton ran a zone defense for nearly all of the game.
“Albany likes to get to the basket. That’s their game; they like to drive,” Carter said.
“Overall, I thought the zone was good,” said Binghamton head coach Nicole Scholl. “The big thing with Albany is they’re so good at dribble penetration, and that was what we were trying to prevent.”
Not only did the Bearcats keep Albany from utilizing its strongest asset, they were also able to create key turnovers running the zone. Senior Darryll Peterson, playing at the top of the zone for a good portion of the game, had three steals.
While Binghamton struggled with turning the ball over in the first half, the second half was an entirely different story. After 11 first-half giveaways, the Bearcats committed just one in the second.
“It was something we talked about at halftime,” Scholl said of the turnovers. “Having 11 in the first half was a little odd. It was just a matter of taking better care of the basketball and making better decisions.”
Despite Albany’s winless conference record, it actually entered the Events Center with the same overall record as the Bearcats (7-13).
“You know that they haven’t won [in conference], so they want it so badly. You have to be ready,” Rebane said.
“[We] try to forget about that record,” Carter said of playing a winless squad. “They are a good team; a lot of their losses haven’t been by a lot [of points]. So basically just forget about the record, go in and play hard.”
Carter’s deadly 3-point shooting once again provided the spark for the Bearcats against Albany. She is currently ranked second in the nation with 3.8 3-pointers made per game.
“It feels really good,” she said of the statistic, “But I have to contribute a lot of it to my teammates because they’re the ones that get me the ball.”
“It’s great to play with her because you know that if you kick it out to her, she’s gonna make it,” Rebane added.
“It’s exciting for Erica; it’s great recognition for her and it shows how big a part of this team she is,” Scholl said of Carter. “I think she would be the first to tell you that the team wins are much more important than the individual stats, and she honestly doesn’t really like the recognition very much, but congratulations to her. She’s put a lot of hard work in, and I’m really happy for her.”
The next test for the Bearcats is Boston University, who defeated Binghamton at home earlier this season. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. on Wednesday.
“Every game in our conference is basically a must-win,” Carter said. “Boston has been playing well, so if we can get a win on their home court, it would be good for us.”