Compare Sunday’s contest between the Binghamton women’s basketball team and UMass Lowell with the two teams’ earlier meeting on Jan. 3, and the results couldn’t be more opposite.
In the first matchup, the Bearcats (4-18, 2-7 America East) rallied from a double-digit deficit to capture their first conference victory of the season. The second time around, BU had no such luck. UML (9-12, 3-6 AE) pulled out a decisive 66-49 victory to extend Binghamton’s losing streak to six.
Despite the loss, freshman guard Jasmine Sina was named AE Rookie of the Week on Monday, earning that distinction for the fourth time this season. After scoring 13 points in BU’s previous game — a Wednesday loss against UMBC — Sina poured in 14 against UML while tallying three steals in the process.
BU could not stop the River Hawks, who opened the game on a 10-2 run in the opening five minutes. But not to be silenced, a run capped by a layup from senior forward Sherae Swinson with 6:24 remaining in the half brought the score to 17-16. That would be the closest the Bearcats would come to their opponent, however.
Freshman guard Brianna Rudolph opened a 16-2 run for UML with a 3-pointer sandwiched between two layups. Also contributing was senior guard Shannon Samuels, who scored three points and dished out an assist, and junior forward Lindsey Doucette, who hit four free-throws and grabbed an equal number of rebounds. Doucette, who finished the game with 16 points and 12 rebounds, notched her third double-double in four career games against Binghamton.
UMass Lowell maintained control of the game throughout the second half. The River Hawks picked up where they left off, widening their advantage to 50-25 in the period’s opening seven minutes. Taking the second half, 33-31, UML cruised to victory with a final score of 66-49.
One bright spot in the loss was Binghamton’s success in the turnover battle. The frequency of turnovers has been an issue for the team this year, but BU committed four fewer miscues than its opponent. The Bearcats scored 24 points off of 15 UML turnovers while allowing only 13 points off of their own giveaways.
Aside from Sina, the only other Bearcat to reach double figures in scoring was junior guard Kim Albrecht, who matched Sina for a team-high 14 points.
Binghamton is set to return to action Wednesday against Hartford. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Events Center.