VESTAL, N.Y. -- Sophomore guard Denai Bowman tied a career high with 22 points, leading Binghamton (2-6, 2-4 AE) to a 52-44 win over Hartford (3-3, 3-3 AE) in an America East women's basketball game on Sunday afternoon at Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center. With the victory, the Bearcats gain a split in the weekend conference series against the Hawks, having dropped the opener 64-54 on Saturday.

Bowman went 11-for-17 from the field and added five rebounds as well as a pair of steals. She previously scored 22 points in the Bearcats' season-opener against Fairleigh Dickinson on Dec. 2.

In a game that featured 11 ties and 11 lead changes, the Bearcats were down 41-40 with 5:59 left in regulation. They then took the lead for good on back-to-back baskets by sophomore forward Birna Benonysdottir and Bowman to go up 44-41 with 4:49 left to go.
Bowman then seized command of the game down the stretch, scoring four straight points to give Binghamton a 48-42 lead with 2:21 remaining. Up until that point, neither team had led by more than four points the entire game. 

The Bearcats sealed the win by going a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the final 37 seconds of the game. 

"We played smart, hard and together today," head coach Bethann Shapiro Ord said.  "We  brought great energy and we had to stay disciplined in our defense. We made a much better conscious effort to box out. We have asked a lot from Denai both offensively and defensively and what she did today was a tribute to her."

Benonysdottir finished with eight points, three rebounds, two assists and a block. Sophomore forward Clare Traeger grabbed a team-best nine rebounds to go along with five points and three steals. 

Jordan McLemore led Hartford with 10 points. Sierra Smith, who grabbed a facility-record 21 rebounds on Saturday, had 13 rebounds and nine points.

The Bearcats held a 32-24 advantage in points in the paint. 

The 44 points surrendered by Binghamton marks its best defensive performance of the season. Its previous fewest points allowed was 55 against Stony Brook on Dec. 20. 

Binghamton heads to Vermont next weekend for another two-game conference series. The Bearcats and Catamounts will square off Saturday at 5 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.

NOTES: Traeger finished the two games against Hartford averaging a team-best 10.0 rebounds per game. Both times, she played in a reserve role … Bowman, who entered the weekend ranked third in the America East in scoring, is now averaging a team-best 13.5 points per game.