With four players on the roster standing over 6 feet tall, the New Hampshire women’s basketball team quite literally towered over the Bearcats on Saturday.
Behind that height difference, UNH (15-10, 7-6 America East) handily defeated BU (4-22, 2-11 AE), who has just one player over 6 feet in senior forward Jessa Molina, who has clocked just 10 minutes all season. The Wildcats pounded the ball down low, scoring easy baskets around the rim all game en route to defeating Binghamton, 76-58.
“We learned that we have to play together as a team,” BU head coach Linda Cimino said. “If we don’t play unified and together, and five of us don’t play defense all the time and we don’t communicate, we aren’t going to win.”
From tip-off, UNH executed its game plan nearly perfectly. With such a tremendous size advantage, the Wildcats fed the ball to 6-foot-4 senior center Kaylee Kilpatrick, who created major problems for the Bearcats in the post. Left defended one-on-one, Kilpatrick scored easy baskets at the rim. When Binghamton double-teamed, Kilpatrick kicked the ball out to an open player for jump-shots.
Off those passes, UNH junior guard Elizabeth Belanger — who ranks third in the America East in scoring — was able to attack a scrambling BU defense, driving into the paint while sophomore guard Kristen Anderson found room on the perimeter for four 3-pointers.
All-in-all, New Hampshire shot 70 percent from the field in the half. The Wildcats headed into the locker room with a 43-24 lead.
The Bearcats, who thrive offensively in transition, were unable to get many fast-break opportunities due to their opponent’s efficiency from the floor.
“We feed off of our defense,” said Bearcat freshman guard Imani Watkins. “When you struggle defensively, you struggle offensively. We weren’t able to get out in transition because they made a lot of their shots. When we aren’t able to get out in transition, which is what we like to do, we kind of stall on offense.”
While BU could not recover from its halftime deficit, the team was more effective offensively in the second half. But on the defensive end, the Bearcats continued to struggle to stop New Hampshire. The Wildcats’ lead ballooned to as many as 30, 54-24, five minutes into the half. The Bearcats made a late push led by freshman guard Jasmine Sina — who scored all 11 of her points in the last 11 minutes of the game — but it was too little, too late as Binghamton fell, 76-58.
For the game, New Hampshire shot 65 percent from the field and nailed six 3-pointers while scoring 44 points in the paint. Belanger finished with 25 points and eight rebounds, while Kilpatrick scored 14.
The Bearcats shot just 33 percent for the game from the field and 22 percent from the 3-point line in the period. Senior forward Sherae Swinson recorded her seventh career double-double, scoring 16 points and pulling down 10 boards. Watkins broke her scoring drought by adding 15. Aside from Sina, no other player scored more than six points for Binghamton.
“We got ourselves into a hole today and it was a hole too big to dig out of,” Cimino said. “We weren’t making shots; they were making every shot. You put it together, it’s a bad formula for us.”
Prior to tip-off, the Bearcats announced that Saturday’s game would honor the Coaches vs. Cancer foundation. A pre-game ceremony was held in which Cimino pledged to donate to the organization $5 for each point her team scored in the game.
BU is scheduled to return to action on Saturday against Maine. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. at the Events Center.