VESTAL, N.Y. – Freshman guard Carly Boland hit the game-winning three-point field goal with just over a minute left in regulation, leading Binghamton (13-15, 8-7 AE) to a 60-59 win over Hartford (16-12, 8-7 AE) in an America East women's basketball game on Thursday night at the Events Center. The victory marked the final regular-season home game for the Bearcats.

Boland's game winner, which wound up being the final points either team scored, capped a 10-0 Bearcat run in a span of 6:07. Junior guard Imani Watkins, who scored a game-high 28 points, started the run with five straight points and freshman guard Kai Moon followed by sinking a pair of free throws.

Down 59-57, the Bearcats got a key offensive round by junior center Alyssa James with 1:09 left to go. The ball eventually wound up in the hands of Boland who swished home her shot.
From there, Binghamton held Hartford scoreless during its final two possessions.

"I am so proud of our team tonight," head coach Linda Cimino said. "This was the first nail biter this season that we have won and we couldn't have done it tonight without the crowd, the band, the BU Zoo and everyone else. The noise was great. Imani and Kai played tremendous in the second half and I couldn't be more proud of them."

Watkins, who continues to rank second in the America East with 19.4 points per game, went 12-of-21 from the field and 4-of-9 from beyond the three-point line. She has now reached the 20-point mark in scoring 30 times during her career, which ranks third all-time in program history.  In addition, Watkins continues to rank fourth in Binghamton history with 1,446 career points.

Moon finished with nine points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals. She went a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line. James added seven points, seven rebounds, three blocks and a pair of steals.

Down 30-22 at the break, the Bearcats opened the third period on a 13-2 run to go up 33-32 with 7:47 left to go. Watkins had seven of her points during that stretch. Hartford, however, regrouped to go up 47-43 at the end of the third period.

A three-point field goal by Watkins pulled the Bearcats to within 51-48 with 9:07 left in regulation. The Hawks, however, went on an 8-2 run with 7:16 left to go to go up 59-50. That set the stage for Binghamton's decisive rally.

Deanna Mayza led Hartford with 18 points while Darby Lee added 16 points and seven rebounds. La'Trice Hall, meanwhile, chipped in 15 points.

Binghamton travels to Maine for its final regular season game. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday. The Bearcats can finish anywhere from No. 4 to No. 6 heading into the conference tournament.