On Wednesday night, the Binghamton women’s basketball team wrapped up its two-game home-stand, hosting UNH. Earlier this season the Bearcats defeated the Wildcats 59-45 in their first matchup this season; Wednesday night’s contest saw a similar outcome as BU jumped ahead early and never looked back, taking down UNH 75-53 and improving to 6-5 in America East (AE) play.

“The confidence in the offense comes from the defense,” said Binghamton head coach Bethann Shapiro Ord. “ They’ve been really picking it up and New Hampshire [has] been playing really well. Our team came out and knew they had to do a great job on defense and they did.”

The game started out with quick scoring from both sides, but the Wildcats’ (7-16, 2-9 AE) early turnovers allowed BU (13-11, 6-5 AE) to jump out to a 6-3 lead courtesy of three-straight baskets from sophomore forward Genevieve Coleman. The Bearcats continued to pour on the pressure as they amassed an 18-6 run over the following minutes. During this period of time, redshirt freshman guard Ella Wanzer drilled two 3-pointers while Coleman added six more points to her total without missing a shot. Binghamton ended the first quarter with a 22-12 lead and forced eight Wildcat turnovers in the period.

“[Getting an early lead] is very crucial because it allows us to do things that we may not be able to work on in a close game,” said senior guard Denai Bowman. “It allows us to communicate in different ways.”

The second quarter saw a slower offensive output from both teams as neither converted on a field goal until four minutes into the frame when the Bearcats ended the drought with a layup. After a handful of free throws and a bucket from Bowman, BU retained its advantage halfway through the frame leading 28-16. The teams played the remainder of the half on a consistent back-and-forth scoring effort as UNH answered all of Binghamton’s attempts to pull away further. The hosts, however, ended the frame on a buzzer-beater three-pointer from Coleman as the game entered the break with a score of 40-24 in BU’s favor.

“Playing with guards that can give you the ball as well as [redshirt freshman guard Jadyn Weltz] and [Bowman] is the best feeling,” Coleman said. “When you’re just sitting there and all of a sudden the ball is in your hand for a wide-open layup is one of the best feelings in the world.”

The Bearcats continued their scoring frenzy into the third quarter, starting the period on a 7-2 run, including two baskets from Bowman and another 3-pointer from Wanzer. UNH remained competitive with BU, managing to go back and forth for much of the frame, but this wasn’t enough to cut into Binghamton’s lead as it remained in double-digits. The Bearcats ended the penultimate quarter on another run, maintaining control with a 60-42 advantage going into the final stretch of play.

“[Our team is] very unselfish and they know that,” Shapiro Ord said. “Within our offense, there is a lot of opportunity. If somebody is honing in on one player, the others know they can step in and knock down shots.”

The fourth quarter saw no change in the action as BU kept adding to its tally while holding off the Wildcats at the same time. The hosts jumped out to a 10-4 run in the period and saw scoring from multiple different sources. Bowman and Coleman scored baskets of their own along with senior guard Clare Traeger who knocked down a 3-pointer. Binghamton closed out its strong performance with a 75-53 victory.

“We have a totally new mindset,” Shapiro Ord said. “My two senior leaders [Bowman] and [Traeger] have been tremendous. This weekend they could’ve had off two days and they said, ‘No. We wanna keep this momentum going.’ That’s huge, that’s culture. That’s showing that they wanna keep progressing.”

BU saw four different players score in double-digits on the night. Coleman led the pack with 19 points. Bowman and Wanzer followed with 16 points apiece and Traeger rounded out the quartet with 12 points of her own. Weltz impacted the win in her own right, dishing out seven assists and grabbing four steals. Bowman also added six assists of her own.

“[Weltz] has an incredible basketball IQ and so does [Bowman],” Shapiro Ord said. “They were able to penetrate, make the other team come out and double team, and it opened it wide open for people like [Coleman].”

Binghamton will hit the road for its next matchup against UAlbany on Saturday, Feb. 11. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. at the McDonough Sports Complex in Troy, New York.