After the Binghamton women’s basketball team captured its first two games of the season for the first time since the 2011-12 season, the team dropped its third game against Lafayette, 59-50, on Sunday. Despite the loss, Binghamton (2-1) had a wild and ferocious game against Cornell Friday night, with the most notable performances coming from junior guard Kai Moon, senior forward Rebecca Carmody and sophomore guard Lizzy Spindler, winning 72-61.
The majority of Moon’s 22 points against Cornell (0-1) came from her free throws. Moon was perfect in this department and went 15-for-15, the most free throws made of her career in a single game. Once Moon hit the double-digit mark in the fourth quarter, the crowd was silent and tense as it waited to see if Moon would ruin her streak.
“I’ve always taken pride in my free throws,” Moon said. “Those are our shots, but when you practice them, it becomes easier. We really stress free throws in practice, and especially down the stretch and when you’re fatigued. Those are when they become the most important; I think that’s why we were able to seal the game down the stretch.”
While Moon was perfect in free throws, Spindler was perfect in field goals. Spindler was three-for-three in 3-pointers and was four-for-four from the field, ending with a total of 11 points. Spindler also had an impressive steal in the second period, as she used her tenacious style of play to capitalize on a sideline pass from Cornell junior guard Caitlyn Smith. Both Smith and the crowd were not expecting the steal, and both parties watched in awe.
“[Spindler] really sparked the team,” said BU head coach Bethann Shapiro Ord. “I was really proud of her because she’s been such a good leader by communicating and she also has been firing up the team, too, so I was very proud of her and what she did.”
Even though Spindler’s steal was evidently energizing, Carmody led the team in steals with five. Three out of the five steals came in the fourth period as Carmody turned up the defensive intensity against the Big Red. Carmody also had 14 points to her name, was three-for-four in 3-pointers and had seven rebounds.
“At halftime, [Shapiro Ord] emphasized rebounding,” Carmody said. “We struggled in the first half, so when we came out [in the second half], that was big for us, and I think that we buckled down.”
While Carmody was one of the team’s most essential players in the game against Cornell, she only came out with five total points in yesterday’s game against Lafayette (2-1). Prior to this game, Carmody was averaging 15 points per game, a beyond respectable number for any basketball player, but that average took a hit after Sunday’s performance.
Spindler, however, had another notable game, cashing in on three out of four 3-point attempts and four out of seven field goal attempts for 11 points, the highest out of all the Bearcats. Sophomore forward Olivia Ramil also had a solid game, totaling 10 points and going two-for-two from the free-throw line. Moon had an underwhelming scoring performance, scoring only nine points, with five of those points coming from free throws.
Although the team was not able to take home a victory in its most recent content, it will have a chance to redeem itself on Thursday in its game at Ohio University. Tipoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. from the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio.