The Binghamton women’s basketball team placed dead last in the America East in points scored during 2013-14, averaging a meager 49.6 points per game. BU (4-15, 2-4 AE) captured just five wins that season, only two of which came against AE opponents.
Simply put, the program needed change.
So far in 2014-15, first-year head coach Linda Cimino has brought just that. At 59.6 points per contest this season, the Bearcats are averaging a whole 10 points more per game. They’re finding points in transition and off fast-break opportunities — an area in which the team has struggled the past few seasons.
“The kids want to score, fans want to see points,” Cimino said. “If you break down our scoring, a lot of it is coming in transition and that is the up and down pace of the game that has been working for us.”
That faster pace has helped to revitalize a once fledgling program. In recent seasons, BU lacked hustle and discipline. Since Cimino took the helm, Binghamton has shown improvement in both of those areas as well as in the win column. The Bearcats have already matched last season’s conference win total after defeating UMass Lowell, 65-64, and Vermont, 73-62.
“All along I’ve been saying my expectations for the team are that we improve every day, that we play hard, our intensity level is high and we communicate,” Cimino said. “I think that the girls have exceeded some of my expectations. They are committed to getting better individually and as a team. I am really happy with where we are at in terms of the effort and the commitment.”
Leading the charge for the Bearcats has been the freshman backcourt of Imani Watkins and Jasmine Sina. Watkins scored a career-high 29 points for BU in a 72-67 victory over Rider and also added 18 points in the win against Vermont. Sina poured in 19 against Lowell and 20 in a 73-68 loss to New Hampshire. The two have combined for six AE Rookie of the Week distinctions so far this season.
“Mooch [Sina] and Mani [Watkins] have been tremendous for us,” Cimino said. “Not only are they really good players and really good scorers, but they are competitors. They are kind of going to be the foundation blocks of this program and building this program going forward.”
Binghamton’s increased point totals have also been aided by improved play from two returning players in senior forward Sherae Swinson and junior guard Kim Albrecht. Albrecht has increased her scoring by 5.2 points per game from a season ago and has become an efficient 3-pointer shooter, hitting 34 percent of her shots from deep. In a 59-44 loss to Hartford, she knocked down three 3-pointers.
“Kim is finding a lot of success because she is playing with a lot of confidence this year,” Cimino said. “She isn’t afraid to shoot the ball.”
Swinson has recorded four double-doubles this season, including scoring 10 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in BU’s most recent contest, a 70-48 loss to Maine.
“I think that we have really developed Sherae in the post,” Cimino said. “She is posting up a lot bigger and stronger. She has a lot more confidence, too.”
After starting conference play with victories in two of its first three contests, BU is currently on a three-game losing streak after falling to AE powerhouse Albany, 82-49, prior to losses against New Hampshire and Maine.
Check out bupipedream.com/sports for a recap of Sunday’s matchup with Stony Brook.