The Binghamton women’s basketball team entered the first half of its two-game home stand on Wednesday night with a 7-1 record at home. The Bearcats hosted top-seeded Albany who entered the contest undefeated in America East (AE) conference play. Despite competing with the Great Danes early on, BU ceased its lead and was defeated at home 64-60.

“We got the best band, we got the best cheerleaders [and] dance team,” said Binghamton head coach Bethann Shapiro Ord. “Our crowd was phenomenal tonight. They keep showing up, and they’ve been tremendous for us. Our girls love playing in front of them, and the Binghamton community really came out tonight.”

Binghamton (10-9, 3-3 AE) honored senior guard Denai Bowman during the pregame for scoring her 1,000th career point earlier this season. The senior became the 19th Bearcat in program history to reach this milestone. Albany (13-8, 7-0 AE) began the scoring in the first quarter, starting the game on a fast 7-2 run. BU, however, wasted no time in its response. The hosts put together a scoring stretch of their own to take their first lead of the contest at 10-9. Although the rest of the period remained as a back-and-forth scoring effort, Binghamton staged an 8-2 run in the final two minutes and exited the quarter with a 24-20 advantage.

“There is still room for growth,” Shapiro Ord said. “They’re battling in practice and that’s what you want … They’re a great group to coach, and I absolutely love coaching them. I like the way we’re continuing to impress.”

The second period proved to be a slower affair than the first high-scoring frame. The Great Danes added five unanswered points over a three-minute span until redshirt freshman guard Ella Wanzer drilled a deep 3-pointer. However, the Bearcat offense went silent in the quarter, amassing just five points and allowing 15 over 10 minutes. Despite its woes, the Bearcats’ strong first period allowed them to enter the halftime break trailing by just six points at 35-29.

“When I had to take [Bowman] out with foul trouble that really hurt us a little bit,” Shapiro Ord said. “And we weren’t knocking shots down, we weren’t taking quicker shots and we weren’t attacking the rim like our game plan was and what we did in the first quarter.”

Despite two quick buckets from both sides, Binghamton’s second-quarter offensive struggles continued into the third period. The Great Danes outscored the Bearcats 8-2 over the first five minutes of the half and extended their earlier run to 23-7. Albany’s scoring output continued but was briefly halted after Bowman converted on an and-1 fadeaway to put BU back on the board. This, however, sparked scoring from the home side as senior guard Clare Traeger followed with a 3-pointer and Wanzer converted on two free throws and a three of her own. The Bearcats entered the final quarter facing a 52-42 deficit.

“Our rebounding needed to be much better,” Shapiro Ord said. “When you go against a team like [Albany] and they out-rebound you by [13] that’s tough.”

Binghamton opened up the fourth period scoring with a three-pointer from Wanzer and a quick turnover which led to a Coleman three, immediately cutting Albany’s advantage to just four. Bowman added nine straight points in the period and assisted on a Wanzer 3-pointer to trail by just three points with 30 seconds remaining. This, however, was not enough for the home team’s comeback as the Bearcats fell 64-60.

“[Wanzer] has been tremendous,” Shapiro Ord said. “The thing about her is she has such a quick release, and it’s very hard to guard her. Everybody knows who she is, and now she’ll continue to have to do things off the ball.”

Wanzer led the scoring for Binghamton with 21 points, followed by Bowman who finished with 18. In addition, redshirt freshman guard Jadyn Weltz added a season-high six steals in the losing effort.

“Six steals, that’s big time, that’s great,” Shapiro Ord said. “[The defense] was hard fought. The team knew [Albany] had a lot of weapons inside and out. We had to make sure we were on one page with defense.”

The Bearcats will wrap up their two-game home stand against Maine on Saturday, Jan. 21. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at the Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center in Vestal, New York.