VESTAL, NY–Binghamton scored 45 second-half points and held off visiting NJIT to secure a 72-69 home victory Saturday afternoon in America East Women's Basketball action inside Dr. Bai Lee Court.
The Bearcats, winners of five in a row, improved to 17-6 overall, 9-1 in the America East and are 11-1 at home this season.
The Highlanders (14-10, 5-6 America East) held a 10-point lead at the half, 38-28, and outscored the Bearcats in the second quarter, 21-8. Binghamton scored 25 third quarter points and led by two heading into the final quarter, 53-51.
In the fourth quarter, Binghamton pushed its lead up to as many as seven, 60-53, but the Highlanders cut the deficit to one twice, the final time, 66-65, before the Bearcats closed out the game scoring the final six out of eight points.
Senior Alejandra Zuniga led the Highlanders with 19 points while Ava Locklear combined for a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 4-for-6 from the field and 4-of-4 at the free throw line. Olivia Kulyk added nine points and five rebounds.
NJIT started off on a 9-4 spurt capped by a three-pointer from Olivia Kulyk. Binghamton scored eight straight to take its first lead of the game, 11-9, at the 5:03 mark and the Bearcats took a five-point advantage, 20-15, on a three-pointer by Bella Pucci with thirty seconds left in the quarter. Marissa Gingrich knocked down a jumper at the buzzer to bring NJIT back to within three, 20-17.
The Highlanders outscored the Bearcats 21-8 in the second quarter and held a 10-point lead heading into the locker room, 38-28, led by Alejandra Zuniga and Ava Locklear with eight points each.
Binghamton used a 6-0 run to begin the third quarter, pulling within four of the Highlanders, 38-34, resulting in a Highlander timeout at the 7:12 mark. The Bearcats continued its run, closing the NJIT gap to within two, 42-40, with a bucket at the 4:50 mark and over a span of 2:24 Binghamton battled their way back, using a 10-2 spurt to regain the lead 51-48, with 1:30 on the clock. Binghamton's Pucci had eight points in the run.
The Bearcats continued its momentum into the fourth quarter, scoring the first four points and pushing its lead to six, 57-51, resulting in an NJIT timeout. An 8-5 run by the Highlanders cut the lead to three, 62-59, on a three-pointer by Kulyk and a trey ball by Zuniga at the 3:10 mark for a one-point game, 65-64 and again 66-65 on one of two free throws made by Zuniga at the 2:02 mark. Binghamton closed out the final 1:46 scoring the last six out of eight points to secure the 72-67 home victory.
Bella Pucci led all scorers with 31 points followed by Kendall Bennett who registered a double-double of 22 points and 13 rebounds.
Next Up
NJIT will play its next two at home, first hosting New Hampshire on Thursday at 6pm and Maine on Saturday at 12Noon on Play4Kay.
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