LOWELL, Mass. – Junior guard Imani Watkins finished with a game-high 19 points, leading Binghamton (7-8, 2-0 AE) to a 58-48 win over UMass Lowell (3-12, 0-2 AE) in an America East women's basketball game on Saturday afternoon at the Costello Athletic Center. With the victory, the Bearcats are off to a 2-0 start in conference play for the first time since the 2011-12 season.
 
Watkins, who came into the game ranked first in the America East with 18.7 points per game, sank four field goals from beyond the three-point arc. She also finished with seven rebounds, four assists, a block and two steals.
 
It was also a milestone day for Watkins, who moved into 10th place all time in program history with 1,184 career points. She surpassed Viive Rebane (2008-12), who finished her Binghamton career with 1,176 points.
 
Redshirt sophomore Jasmine Sina added 12 points and a team-high five assists while junior center Alyssa James finished with five points, nine rebounds, three blocks and three steals.
 
For the second straight game, Binghamton took command in the third period. The Bearcat were nursing a 22-18 halftime lead but outscored the River Hawks 19-10 over the next 10 minutes to take a 41-28 advantage. Watkins led the way with eight points during that stretch.
 
Binghamton maintained its double-digit cushion throughout the final period. An 8-0 run over a span of 1:53 pushed the lead to 58-38 with 2:02 left. Sina punctuated the spurt by making a pair of free throws and the Bearcats emptied their bench afterwards.
 
Defensively, the Bearcats finished with seven blocks and 13 steals. They scored 19 of their points off of River Hawk turnovers.
 
Kayla Gibbs led UMass Lowell with 18 points, a game-high 16 rebounds and six assists. Teammate Nicole Hayner added 15 points.
 
Freshman guard Kai Moon and sophomore forward Rebecca Carmody each had eight points in the winning effort. Freshman guard Carly Boland, meanwhile, finished with four rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals in 15 minutes off the bench.
 
James, who has averaged 9.5 rebounds and 4.5 blocks in the past two games, now has 111 career blocks. She continues to rank fourth all time in Binghamton program history and is one rejection away from tying Rebane for third place all time.
 
Binghamton travels to Vermont on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. game.
 
NOTES: Watkins needs four points to tie Laine Kurpniece (2004-08) for ninth place all time in program history with 1,188 career points.