On Wednesday, the Binghamton women’s basketball team traveled to Vermont to take on the Catamounts in one of its last remaining America East (AE) matchups of the season. The Bearcats made a push late in the game to give themselves a chance to win but ultimately fell short losing 65-60.

“We played a couple good quarters, you gotta play 40 minutes,” said Binghamton head coach Bethann Shapiro Ord. “We battled back in the fourth quarter being down 14 points and getting it to one. We put ourselves in a position … [Vermont] did a really good job defensively, and we just didn’t get an opportunity to score it.”

BU (7-9, 3-13 AE) and Vermont (18-10, 2-5 AE) went back and forth for the majority of the first half. Both teams made seven shots, but the Catamounts led 16-15 going into halftime. However, Vermont gained control in the second quarter. Toward the end of the period, the Catamounts went on a 9-1 run to give them an eight-point advantage going into the break thanks to 66.7 percent shooting from the field compared to the Bearcats’ 38.5 percent. Vermont outscored BU 21-14.

“Instead of going inside or attacking the rim, we started taking jump shots early and that’s when [Vermont] went on that run,” Shapiro Ord said.

Almost half of BU’s scoring came from junior forward Birna Benonysdottir who tallied 12 points by the end of the first half. The next closest Bearcat was junior guard Denai Bowman, who added six points and four rebounds.

Both teams got out to a slow start in the second half with both teams shooting 25 percent or under in the third quarter. Despite its cold shooting, however, Vermont was able to increase its lead by outscoring the Bearcats by four points in the quarter.

“We started shooting jump shots and they weren’t falling and [Vermont was] capitalizing on that,” Shapiro Ord said.

In the fourth quarter the Bearcats narrowed their deficit down to as little as five points with just over a minute to play. On their next possession, Benonysdottir hit a 3-pointer at the top of the arc to make it a three-point game. BU was able to close the gap further after Bowman sunk two free throws to close the margin to just one point.

Binghamton had a final chance to tie the game with 9.2 ticks remaining. Following a Bearcat timeout, Benonysdottir was granted possession of the ball, looking to find a teammate for a final offensive push. On the inbound, however, the Bearcats had the ball stolen, and the Catamounts took it the other way for a fast-break layup.

“We gotta lock in,” Shapiro Ord said. “We gotta come up with the rebound and finish out the game.”

BU struggled distributing the ball throughout the game, dishing only nine assists compared to Vermont’s 20. Binghamton also failed to distribute its points throughout the team, as Benonysdottir and Bowman both accumulated 22 points apiece and were the only two Bearcats to score in double digits against Vermont.

“Tonight we just had two people in double figures,” Shapiro Ord said. “We need three people — you can’t just rely on [Benonysdottir] and [Bowman].”

With only two more games remaining on the schedule, BU needs to win to give itself a chance to make the AE playoffs.

“We just have to keep battling,” Shapiro Ord said. “We’ll be at home so hopefully we get a big crowd behind us … Every game counts.”

Binghamton will face UNH next on Saturday, Feb. 26. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center in Vestal, New York.