Over Thanksgiving break, the Binghamton women’s basketball team took a trip to Florida to compete in the Florida Atlantic Thanksgiving Tournament. After falling against Florida Atlantic 51-41 on Friday, the Bearcats lost 78-51 to Butler the next day, coming away from the weekend without a victory.

“We fought hard,” said Binghamton head coach Bethann Shapiro Ord. “Our shots just weren’t falling and that happens … It’s such an incredible group. I can’t express enough what a great group of young ladies they are.”

On Friday afternoon, BU (4-3) kicked off the tournament to play the host FAU (4-1), but it fell behind early in the game with a 13-4 deficit in the first quarter. Senior guard Denai Bowman found success offensively, leading Binghamton with eight points by halftime, accounting for half of BU’s total. Despite falling behind by as much as 10 points in the second quarter, the Bearcats entered halftime only down 22-16.

“I really just leaned on my teammates, and they created good gaps and good reads in order for me to cut in and score the ball easily,” Bowman said. “Just making those reads and continuing to keep my head up even though shots weren’t falling at times. Just finding different types of ways to score the ball.”

BU opened the third quarter hot, going on a 6-0 run that tied the contest up at 22 points apiece. Both teams traded baskets until the visitors earned their first lead of the game after redshirt freshman guard Ella Wanzer hit a three-pointer four minutes into the period. However, a 7-0 run by the Owls in the final three and a half minutes catapulted them into an eight-point advantage going into the final period.

“Our kids just battled,” Shapiro Ord said. “That second half coming out, we just kept punching and punching. We did a great job to get that lead and fight back in it, and I thought they did great … we were attacking the rim, we were getting in the paint and great things were happening.”

Another three-pointer by Wanzer to start the final quarter cut the Bearcat deficit to five, but they were unable to string anything consistent to close the gap. Binghamton shot 30.6 percent from the field and managed only three three-pointers on a 16.7 percent clip for the entire game. Bowman continued her steady offense, finishing the game with 14 points. However, FAU found success and led by as much as 17 points before eventually downing the visitors 51-41. Wanzer was the only other Bearcat to score in double digits while senior guard Clare Traeger scored six. No other Bearcat scored more than three.

“[Bowman’s] doing both ends for us,” Shapiro Ord said. “She was just tremendous … she’s so dynamic, and she lets the game come to her. She doesn’t force anything.”

The following day, BU took on Butler (4-2) for its second and final game of the tournament. The Bearcats kept pace with the Bulldogs after one quarter, only trailing 22-16. However, Butler made a strong offensive effort, with 56.5 percent efficiency from three allowing them to stretch the gap. Binghamton was unable to keep pace as it shot 36.1 percent from the field and only 16.7 percent from three again.

“I think we got tougher mentally,” Bowman said. “Those were two great teams to play and to have experience on, so just playing them definitely challenged us a lot in different ways. Just learning from that and growing, taking what we needed and helping each other throughout the game and encouraging each other through it all.”

Despite the Bearcats’ struggles to find consistent scoring, Bowman continued to have success on offense. The senior shot six-for-eight from the field, finishing the game with 13 points while grabbing seven rebounds in the process. Additionally, senior guard Cassidy Roberts contributed to the total with 10 points of her own on five-for-eight shooting. The duo combined for nearly half of BU’s total point tally, but it was not enough as the Bearcats eventually lost 78-51.

“A lot of people got to play,” Shapiro Ord said. “It was back-to-back [games]. This is just going to get us better. We don’t give up, we keep fighting … We’ll bounce back.”

BU will face in-state rival Cornell on Wednesday, Nov. 30 for its next game. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Newman Arena at Bartels Hall in Ithaca, New York.