Behind excellent performances on both ends of the court, the Binghamton women’s basketball team gained a critical victory on the road, defeating Vermont 59-50. The Bearcats (12-15, 7-7 America East) have now captured three straight games.
“I think it was a great team effort,” said BU head coach Bethann Shapiro Ord. “In the second half, we really pulled it out and did a good job of pulling together and doing what we needed to do to take care of business.”
Junior guard Kai Moon led the Bearcats with 23 points. Sophomore forward Olivia Ramil scored a career-high 14 points, and senior forward Rebecca Carmody recorded her seventh double-double of the season.
“They did a great job points-wise, but the person that really stood out to all of us, she didn’t have the typical points, but she did have nine rebounds. KK, [junior guard] Karlee Krchnavi,” Shapiro Ord said. “Krchnavi held their best player, [UVM junior forward Hanna] Crymble, to seven points and she frustrated her so much that she fouled out. That was really big for us.”
Crymble, who scored 21 points when the teams first met, is currently fifth in the conference in scoring. She was stifled defensively by Krchnavi, playing just 23 minutes and fouling out late in the fourth quarter.
The initial meeting between the Catamounts (11-16, 7-8 AE) and Binghamton this season was a crushing loss for BU. After holding a six-point edge with 90 seconds remaining, Vermont tied the game on a 6-0 run and sent it to overtime, where, despite not recording a single field goal in the extra period, the Catamounts won.
“Going on the road is always tough, but especially the way we lost the last game, and that was one of our motivations,” Shapiro Ord said.
The team has come a long way since then. The Bearcats have now taken three consecutive matchups, including two on the road, and the team appears to be getting hot at the right time.
“It’s not how you start the season, it’s how you end,” Shapiro Ord said. “And people are stepping up for each other. Rebecca wants to have the best senior year she can possibly have, and she keeps bringing her toughness and her desire to do well. Kai having 23 points, she had two points in the first half and coming out and finishing with 23. And Olivia scoring big numbers for us as well.”
Binghamton is currently sitting in fifth place in the conference heading into its final two regular season games. The top four teams host a quarterfinal, and the Bearcats are chasing Albany for that opportunity. The Great Danes (11-16, 8-6 AE) have now lost three straight games but own the tiebreaker over BU. In order to host a playoff game, the Bearcats will have to win out and have Albany drop its two remaining games. Showdowns with league-leading Hartford and Maine this week provide challenging tests as the Bearcats makes their push toward the playoffs.
“We still have a lot of basketball to play, and we need to take care of business,” Shapiro Ord said.
Tipoff against Hartford is set for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 27 from the Chase Family Arena at Reich Family Pavilion in West Hartford, Connecticut.