Coming off back-to-back losses against Maine and New Hampshire, the Binghamton women’s basketball team bounced back to close out their regular season with a dominant 72-42 win over UMass Lowell on Senior Day. Redshirt junior guard Jadyn Weltz led the way with 19 points as Binghamton wrapped up America East conference play, outscoring Lowell 18-7 in the final quarter en route to clinching the No. 6 seed for the conference playoffs.

“It was huge,” said Binghamton head coach Mary Grimes. “We had back-to-back losses, and that’s the thing, that this team has responded every time we’ve had a setback. We learned some lessons that, as a coach, you hope you learned earlier in the season, you know, you’re up on Maine and you lose by one, we were up on NJIT and we lose by 10. Some of those lessons you hope you learn in nonconference games, but we learned them and we grew from them.”

UMass Lowell (3-25, 1-15 AE) struck first with a layup, but sophomore guard Yanniah Boyd responded for Binghamton (15-14, 7-9 AE) with a layup to even the score at 2-2. Weltz followed with a driving layup to give Binghamton a 4-2 lead. After a series of back-and-forth layups between both teams, a three-pointer shot by Boyd closed off the quarter with Binghamton leading 15-9 going into the second.

“We had the mindset today to go in and make a statement,” Weltz said. “We have noise still left to make in this conference, and I think that this was step one in that direction. We wanted to go out there and play hard, play hard for each other and make a name for ourselves here.”

The second quarter kicked off with a turnaround jumper from Boyd, helping to solidify the Bearcats’ lead, extending their advantage to 17-9. The points kept coming from there as sophomore guard Bella Pucci drove inside for two before a three-pointer from sophomore guard Leah Middleton pushed the Bearcats up 24-16. Junior guard Kaia Goode capped the half with a layup to enter halftime with a commanding 33-20 advantage, outscoring UMass Lowell 18-11 in the second quarter.

“I think them understanding that this is a team game, and in the way we want to play, if we play it the right way, it’s anybody’s night,” Grimes said. “I think that’s the cool thing that we’ve been able to learn about our team this season: Whatever the time and place calls for, people step up and they have those opportunities.”

Binghamton’s offense continued to escalate in the third quarter, outscoring Lowell 21-15. The scoring surge began with a layup in the paint by sophomore forward Kendall Bennett to make it a 35-22 game. Defensively, the Bearcats forced turnovers and converted them into second-chance points during this stretch, limiting the River Hawks’ ability to build momentum. Pucci contributed a pair of three-pointers and a steal during this stretch, including a three with eight seconds left in the quarter to run the score up 54-35.

“We still have stuff to work on, but I think we’re in a great spot,” Pucci said. “We’re ready to take this energy and this grit with us.”

Binghamton entered the fourth quarter with a commanding 19-point lead, which continued to grow as they dominated on both ends of the court. Weltz played a key role by contributing two steals and a three-pointer that extended the lead to 70-38, and the guard closed out her Senior day with one last layup to conclude a 72-42 win.

Weltz led the stat sheet with a 19-point outing during her senior day, while Bennett was instrumental in the Bearcats’ success on the glass by adding eight rebounds and four blocks alongside eight points on the game. Binghamton’s defense was stifling throughout, generating 20 points off 17 turnovers by UMass Lowell and holding the River Hawks to just one made three out of 10 attempts.

Postgame, Weltz spoke about what being a part of the women’s basketball team has meant to her at the time at BU.

“I don’t even have any words honestly,” Weltz said. “It’s been incredible to be a part of this team and this program for as long as I have, and I have my teammates to thank, my coaches to thank and everybody that’s been supporting me to thank for everything, but we are not done yet and we’ve got a lot of noise to make.”

No. 6 Binghamton will face No. 3 Bryant in the America East quarterfinals this Thursday, March 6. Tipoff is at 6 p.m. at the Chace Athletic Center in Smithfield, Rhode Island.