ANCHORAGE, AK. – Senior guard Imani Watkins finished with 20 points and was named to the all-tournament team as Binghamton (4-2) defeated UMES (1-4) 68-51 in the consolation game of the Great Alaska Shootout on Thursday afternoon at the Alaska Airlines Center. The win gives the Bearcats a final record of 2-1 on their nine-day road trip out West.

Watkins, who reached the 20-point mark for the 33rd time in her career, also added a season-best eight assists, six rebounds and three steals. She averaged 18.5 points during the Great Alaska Shootout and is averaging a team-best 20.3 points per game so far this season.

Senior center Alyssa James finished with a season-high 15 points, seven rebounds, five blocks and a steal. She now has 14 career games with five or more blocked shots.

Junior forward Rebecca Carmody, meanwhile, scored 13 points, marking the fourth time in the last five games she has reached double figures in scoring. She was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field, including a three pointer, and made all four of her free throws.

The tone was of the game was set during the first 10 minutes as the Bearcats went up 22-7. Binghamton shot 57 percent (8-for-14) and forced six turnovers. Watkins paced a balanced attack with six points during that stretch.

From there, Binghamton outscored the Hawks 20-16 in the second period and 18-13 in the third period. The Bearcats emptied their bench toward the end of the final period.

"I thought our defense was very good right from the start of the game," head coach Linda Cimino said. "We got a couple of quick steals and converted them into transition layups. Holding this team to seven points in the first quarter definitely got us going. It was exciting that we got some rebounds, got some steals and got into transition a lot today."

Sophomore guard Kai Moon added nine points and six rebounds. Fellow sophomore guard Carly Boland chipped in seven points.

UMES was led by Bairesha Gill-Miles, who scored 13 points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.

For the game, Binghamton shot 43 percent (23-of-50) and dished out 19 assists – as opposed to 13 turnovers.

Binghamton returns back East having gone 2-1 during its road trip. In addition to the winning record, this past week has given the Bearcats a chance to grow both on and off the court.

"I thought our kids have gotten to know each other more off the court," Cimino said. "They have grown together and this experience is going to help us the rest of the season. Come late February, we'll look back at these three games and use them as an experience to help us into the playoffs."

Binghamton's next game is on Wednesday at Bucknell. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. EST.

NOTES: This marks the second time in her career Watkins has been named to an in-season all-tournament team. She was chosen to the 2014 Arkon Tip Off Classic, which marked the first two games of her career.