After a shaky first half, the Binghamton women’s basketball team clawed its way back into Wednesday’s game against Stony Brook. But the Seawolves (13-12, 5-7 America East) held on to beat the Bearcats (4-21, 3-9 AE) 60-57 at the Events Center.
It was Binghamton’s second loss to Stony Brook this season.
The Bearcats kept pace with the Seawolves until the 13:28 mark of the first half, when Stony Brook senior forward Jessica Previlon gave her team a 12-10 lead with a layup. The Seawolves widened the gap to as large as 13 points before taking a 36-25 lead into halftime.
Offensive rebounding and turnovers proved to be crucial in Stony Brook’s ability to pull away early. The Seawolves amassed twice as many offensive rebounds as the Bearcats in the first 20 minutes, and Binghamton turned the ball over 14 times while Stony Brook coughed it up just five times.
At halftime, Binghamton head coach Nicole Scholl told her team to focus, according to sophomore forward Sherae Swinson.
“Coach came in and told us that we just needed more effort on the court,” Swinson said. “No more excuses about defensive breakdowns or anything.”
The Bearcats employed a different strategy in the second half, applying more defensive pressure in the paint and creating tougher shots for the Seawolves. It took some time, but after an and-one by junior guard Vaneeshia Paulk at the 3:49 mark, Stony Brook’s lead was just two points.
With 23 seconds left and the teams still separated by two points, an offensive rebound by SBU senior forward Gerda Gatling allowed the Seawolves to move the ball around and draw a foul. Stony Brook out-rebounded Binghamton 20-7 on the offensive glass, and no board was bigger than Gatling’s. Junior guard Teasha Harris hit both foul shots with 18 seconds left to make it 59-55, favor of Stony Brook.
Freshman guard Kim Albrecht converted a layup with one second left to cut the deficit to two, but the Bearcats had run out of time, as Stony Brook hit 1-of-2 foul shots for the 60-57 win.
“It was disappointing,” Scholl said, according to a press release on bubearcats.com. “We played a lot better in the second half, but didn’t show the defensive intensity in the first half.”
BU junior guard Jasbriell Swain grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds while Paulk, Swinson and senior forward Kara Elofson all reached double figures in scoring.
The Bearcats look to wrap up their three-game homestand on Saturday, when they are set to play Maine. The Black Bears (2-22, 1-10 AE) have lost four consecutive conference games and have surrendered 80 points or more in the past three.
In teams’ last matchup on Jan. 20, a 3-pointer from Binghamton junior guard Stephanie Jensen with 1:16 remaining was the deciding factor in a 67-65 BU win. The Bearcats overcame a nine-point halftime deficit to secure the victory.
Binghamton currently sits in eighth place in the conference, while Maine is in last place at ninth.
Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Events Center.