On a night Jen Haubrich, Jen Blues and Rachel Laws were honored, it was a junior who provided the senior trio with the proper send-off.
Junior guard Shea Kenny, who scored a season-high 15 points, drilled a three-pointer with the score tied at 50 to help the Binghamton women’s basketball team complete a dramatic come-from-behind victory Saturday, defeating UMBC 61-52 on Senior Day.
“When I came in today, I didn’t tell them this but I dedicated the game to them,” Kenny said after the game, referring to her senior teammates. “There was no way I was gonna walk off this court without a ‘W’ for these girls, because they worked hard everyday for four years, and they’re just great people and I love ‘em. I just had to come out here and give it my all.”
UMBC opened up the game with an 11-3 run as BU once again had trouble penetrating the Retrievers’ zone defense, but the Bearcats answered with a 22-10 run of their own to take the lead. BU would head into the half leading 29-26.
Both teams came out of the break shooting ice cold before UMBC mounted a comeback, eventually taking a 45-40 lead. The lead changed hands a few times, until Kenny’s clutch three from the corner put the Bearcats up for good.
“It’s such a great adrenaline rush when you hit a shot like that,” Kenny said. “It just gets you more pumped and focused on the game and coming out with a win.”
BU held onto the lead thanks to timely free-throw shooting down the stretch, including the completion of a three-point play by senior Rachel Laws, who looked unstoppable as she drew a foul while hitting a layup with the Bearcats leading by just one.
“I just felt good today,” Laws said. “I didn’t wanna lose today for the three of us and for the rest of the team. It felt good to go out on top.”
Seniors Haubrich, Blues and Laws were honored before the game, and each contributed to the victory. Laws played her most impressive game since returning from an ankle sprain, scoring a team-high 16 points and pulling down seven rebounds. Blues and sophomore Laine Kurpniece added 10 points each.
Each senior had different takes on their four years at Binghamton after the game, but they realized they don’t have much time to reflect with two more games and a conference tournament to play.
“It’s still a big deal, our families are here and it’s the last time we’re gonna run out on the court,” Blues said. “But for now, I’m just taking it all in; I’m sure eventually it will hit me.”
Laws agreed with her teammate.
“It hasn’t hit me yet at all,” she said. “This is gonna be the last time I’m gonna be screaming out, ‘Whose house is this’ before we run out, and to me this is always gonna be my court.”
Haubrich concluded the seniors’ feelings when she added, fighting back tears: “Well, it hit me.”
The victory moves the Bearcats back into a tie with UMBC for fourth place in the America East. Despite the emotional impact of the game, the seniors remain focused on the rest of the season and the upcoming America East tournament.
“I think we have to focus, we have a huge tournament ahead of us,” Haubrich said. “We are not losing in the first round this time.”