With just over three minutes left in the first half of its matchup with Providence on Saturday night, it seemed as though the Binghamton women’s basketball team was headed for its second straight road win.
Redshirt sophomore guard Jasmine Sina dialed up a shot from 3-point land, extending the Bearcats’ lead to 12. Heading into the locker room, BU (1-3) held a 41-31 lead and looked unstoppable from the field. The Bearcats couldn’t continue their dominance, however, scoring just four points in the final quarter en route to a 71-58 loss to the Friars (3-0).
When play picked back up in the third quarter, though, the Bearcats’ scoring successes from the first half appeared to have carried over into the second.
Just 30 seconds into the second half of play, junior guard Imani Watkins knocked down a 3-point attempt that extended BU’s lead to 13 points — its largest of the game. The tally marked Watkins’ 991st career point, which makes her the 15th-highest scorer in the Bearcat women’s program history. At the final buzzer, Watkins had recorded a team-high 25 points, to which she added two assists and three rebounds.
Trouble was on the horizon for the Bearcats, though.
“[Binghamton] had to work really hard for that lead,” said Providence head coach Jim Crowley. “Thankfully, we were able to make some shots in the third quarter.”
BU’s misfortune took hold when Sina was part of a nasty collision with a Friar while hunting down a loose ball. In the wake of the collision, Providence snatched momentum from the Bearcats. Less than two minutes into the third quarter, Friars’ sophomore guard Clara Che connected on a 3-point attempt that sparked her nine-point quarter.
“We challenged [Che] at halftime,” Crowley said. “She’s a great competitor and she answered the bell really, really well.”
After this shot, Providence outscored BU, 38-12, for the rest of the game.
In the first half, the Bearcats shot 56.7 percent from the field and made 46.2 percent of their 3-point attempts. In the second half, however, they shot a dismal 26.1 percent from the field and just 14.3 percent of their 3-point chances fell.
Combined with their lack of scoring in the second half, the Bearcats were crippled by their inability to limit fouls. Going into halftime, BU was already in foul trouble but hoped their commitment to strategy would win out.
“If we pick up a quick foul [in the second half], things will change, but we [want] to stick with our original game plan,” Cimino said at halftime.
Unfortunately, the fouls came early and often for the Bearcats in the second half, and Providence took advantage of the sloppy BU defense. In total, the Bearcats committed 19 fouls, compared to Providence’s 12.
“We’re in a different gym and we’re going to get some unfriendly whistles,” Cimino said. “We [had] to do a better job not putting our hands on defenders.”
The final nail in BU’s coffin came late in the fourth quarter by virtue of two consecutive 3-point shots from Providence’s sophomore guard Jovana Nogic. She hit both shots in less than 40 seconds to tear the game open.
The Bearcats are set to return to action on Wednesday against Sacred Heart. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. from the Events Center in Vestal, New York.