During the 2014-15 season, the Binghamton women’s basketball team was a bottom feeder in the America East (AE). BU ranked in the bottom third of nearly every statistical category and won just two conference matchups before being eliminated in the first round of the AE Tournament.
Just two years later, the case couldn’t be more different.
The Bearcats are off to their best start in nine years, having won their first three conference games to solidify their position as legitimate threats in the AE. The team attributes much of its early success to its difficult nonconference slate, against which it went 5-8.
“We learned a lot from our nonconference schedule and I think that’s really showing right now,” said redshirt sophomore guard Jasmine Sina. “We just played against the most elite teams, so we really had to learn our defense, our offense — we had to execute. That’s what’s carried over into conference [play].”
BU’s offensive efforts have been led once again this season by junior guard Imani Watkins, who ranks first in the conference with 19.4 points per game. Last week, Watkins drained a season-high 27 points against Vermont to secure the Bearcats’ third straight AE victory.
“I think Imani [Watkins] is the best player in the league and when she needs to, she puts the team on her back,” said BU head coach Linda Cimino.
Fortunately for Watkins, she no longer carries the burden of supplying most of the Bearcats’ offensive production. Other contributors include Sina, who is averaging 11.2 points per game after missing all of last season with a torn left ACL, and junior forward Alyssa James, who has contributed 11.1 points per game while anchoring BU’s defense.
“I think [our depth] is going to be one of our strengths this year,” Cimino said prior to the start of the season. “We’re too deep in every position, which is the first time that we can say that, so I think that when somebody’s tired, they can actually come out this year.”
This depth, particularly in the form of BU’s dynamic rookie class, has been one of the most important factors in the squad’s early success. Freshman guard Kai Moon has started in all 17 of BU’s matchups, averaging 8.3 points per game. Classmate guard Carly Boland scored a career-high 16 points in BU’s conference-opening win against UMBC and is a serious threat from beyond the arc, where she shoots 46.9 percent.
For the first time since the 2010-11 season, the Bearcats have recorded a positive scoring margin, netting an average of 2.2 points more than their opponents.
BU will look to improve its rebounding margin before the AE Championship in March. BU ranks eighth in the conference, picking up an average of 7.7 fewer boards than its opponents. In the Bearcats’ most recent game — a 70-62 loss to conference-leading New Hampshire — they were out-rebounded, 37-24.
A quarter into its conference season, BU stands in third place in the conference standings. If the Bearcats can keep their recent form, they will likely be among the top contenders for the AE Regular-season Title and Championship.
“For the past couple of years, we’ve been the underdog, but this year we’re coming out; we’re ready to win the America East Championship,” James said.
BU is set to take on reigning conference champion Albany on Thursday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. from the Events Center in Vestal, New York.