On Friday night, the Binghamton women’s basketball team hosted Roberts Wesleyan for an exhibition game, defeating the Redhawks 74-49. The Bearcats had their way on offense while limiting the Redhawks’ opportunities — en route to their 25-point victory. BU used this first game as an opportunity to get a feel for the season and was able to get multiple players in the game in preparation for its season opener.

“I’m excited,” said Binghamton head coach Bethann Shapiro Ord. “This was a great opportunity for us to be able to play a lot of people. [We got to] really see some different combinations.”

The Bearcats opened up the scoring two minutes into the first quarter when redshirt sophomore guard Jadyn Weltz made a driving layup. Not long after Weltz grabbed a rebound and passed it to sophomore guard/forward Camryn Fauria, who drained a three-pointer that gave Binghamton a 5-0 lead early into the match. The Redhawks responded to the Bearcats a minute later with a layup, to make it 5-2. For the remainder of the quarter, the Bearcats stayed in control — ending the quarter with a 20-9 lead over Roberts Wesleyan.

Early into the second quarter, redshirt sophomore guard Ella Wanzer was fouled and rewarded two free throws. Wanzer made both shots to give the Bearcats a 22-9 lead over the Redhawks. BU continued to create more opportunities when graduate student guard Denai Bowman found freshman guard Bella Pucci, who made a jump shot to give Binghamton a 15-point lead.

“I really liked the effort from top to bottom,” Shapiro Ord said. “When everybody had the opportunity to come in, they did a really nice job.”

The Redhawks also looked to create opportunities for themselves and, shortly after, hit a two-point jump shot. Binghamton and Roberts Wesleyan exchanged points for the remainder of the quarter. For a few minutes, BU was stuck at 29 points, while the Redhawks continued to get on the board. Eventually, Binghamton found its groove again and was able to get a few more points on the board before the quarter ended, heading into halftime with a 35-23 lead.

Once again, the Bearcats opened up the scoring in the third quarter when Fauria passed the ball to Weltz who made a shot from beyond the arc. The Redhawks responded with a three-pointer and a layup to make it 38-28. Not long after, Fauria drilled a three-pointer to reinforce BU’s lead. With the score at 41-28, the Bearcats did not let up, going on an 8-0 run to take a 49-28 advantage. For the remaining few minutes in the quarter, both teams exchanged baskets, as the third period ended with Binghamton up 55-36.

“[Weltz] turning her assist-turnover [ratio] around [in the second half] was great because it wasn’t the first half,” Shapiro Ord said. “[In the second half], it was the opposite, and her having eight assists [and] six turnovers, was pretty good for her first game.”

Despite the Bearcats getting on the board first in the prior three quarters, it would be the Redhawks that got on the board first in the fourth period. Three minutes in, Pucci made a three-pointer off of an assist from redshirt sophomore forward Kaelonn Wilson. Pucci continued to have her way offensively, making another three-pointer off of a pass from Wanzer to put BU up 61-38 with six minutes remaining.

The Bearcats continued to add to its lead for the remainder of the period as the Redhawks struggled to catch up. Both teams were successful in capitalizing on the opportunities that they created. However, when the final buzzer sounded, it was BU that would come out victorious, winning the matchup 74-49.

“Well, second half I felt like when we stopped letting them have offensive rebounds, and we were able to get the rebounds to … get down the floor,” Shapiro Ord said. “I thought it was much better, and we took care of the ball. I think we did a much better job.”

BU will open up its season against Bloomsburg on Monday, Nov 6. Tipoff is set for 6:07 p.m. at the Dr. Bai Lee Court in Vestal, New York.