Over Thanksgiving break, the Binghamton women’s basketball team extended its winning streak to three games with victories over Canisius and Loyola Maryland. On Monday, the Bearcats defeated the Golden Griffins in a 68-58 road matchup. Later in the week, BU earned a 62-46 home win against Loyola Maryland on Saturday.

“I am really proud of our team,” head coach Mary Grimes said. “That is a tough Loyola team … For us to come out with a win against them is pretty impressive. The team is figuring out the zone, how to play off each other and trust each other.”

In its first game of the week on Monday, Binghamton (5-3) got out to a strong start against Canisius (1-5) and did not look back. The Bearcats scored 16 points in each of the first two quarters, holding a 32-23 lead going into halftime. The BU offense shot 48 percent from the field in the first half while the defense locked down the Golden Griffins at 33.3 percent shooting.

“Kudos to the team,” Grimes said. “Defense is what wins championships, and I think that the team is understanding the slides of the zone.”

The Bearcats continued to build on their lead going into the third quarter, outscoring the Golden Griffins 15-11 thanks to timely three-pointers from sophomore guards Leah Middleton and Yanniah Boyd. Going into the final quarter leading 47-34, Binghamton held on, despite being outscored 24-21 in the highest-scoring period of the night, for the 10-point victory.

“We’re a deep team,” Boyd said. “Everyone has their special talent … that’s definitely our secret weapon with our team.”

Boyd and Middleton added 12 points and three assists each in the winning effort. As a team, Binghamton shot efficiently on the night with a 50.9 percent clip from the field and capitalized on mistakes, scoring 18 points off Canisius’ 15 turnovers.

“We have really been stressing getting defensive rebounds and not allowing teams to get second-chance opportunities,” Grimes said. “We were really able to adjust in the second half.”

To finish off its weekend on Saturday, BU started strong on both ends of the floor to maintain a 14-9 lead over Loyola Maryland (4-3) at the end of quarter one. The second quarter saw more of the same as the Bearcats led 29-19 going into halftime.

“Defense is going to win the game for us,” said redshirt junior guard Jadyn Weltz. “Really excited about that growth from our team and excited for where it will take us next.”

Despite the Greyhounds cutting the BU lead to five coming out of the half, Binghamton responded with a 10-6 run to pad a 44-33 lead going into the fourth quarter. The Bearcats continued to fend off Loyola Maryland in the fourth quarter, never relinquishing their double-digit lead for a 62-46 victory.

“The biggest thing for us was taking care of the ball,” Weltz said. “We all had to stay close and help anyone that was bringing up the ball which really alleviated all that pressure.”

Boyd continued her strong sophomore campaign, adding 11 points, five assists and four rebounds. BU’s defensive prowess made the difference, holding the Greyhounds to just 32.7 percent shooting from the field and 23.5 percent from the perimeter. BU also capitalized off second-chance opportunities, scoring 15 points off of 12 offensive rebounds.

“We wanted to increase out defensive intensity,” Boyd said. “We just kept the pressure up and stayed disciplined for 20 minutes.”

Binghamton will hit the road once again to take on Buffalo on Wednesday, Dec. 4. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. at Alumni Arena in Buffalo, New York.