VESTAL, N.Y. – Visiting Albany (14-6, 7-2 AE) outscored Binghamton (5-11, 1-5 AE) 22-2 in the second period, sparking a 52-41 victory in an America East women's basketball game on Monday evening at Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center. The game marked the first of five straight home contests for the Bearcats.
The Great Danes entered the game leading the America East and ranked second in the nation in scoring defense with 48.7 points allowed per game. They limited the Bearcats to 38.3 percent shooting (18-of-47) and shot 48.9 percent at the offensive end of the court (22-of-45).
Kayla Cooper scored a team-high 15 points for Albany, going 7-for-11 from the floor. She also added a game-high six rebounds. Helene Haegerstrand added 11 points, including three three-point field goals.
For the Bearcats, junior guard
Denai Bowman led all scorers with 18 points. In the process, she went 9-for-14 from the floor. Bowman also recorded team highs in both rebounds (five) and steals (two).
Junior forward
Birna Benonysdottir, meanwhile, finished with 10 points, marking the 13th straight game she has reached double figures in scoring.
An impressive first period put the Bearcats ahead 13-4 through 10 minutes of play. Bowman had six of her points during that stretch and senior guard
Hayley Moore added five points. On the defensive end, Binghamton surrendered just one field goal and forced a pair of back court violations.
It was the second period, however, that proved decisive as Albany built a 26-15 lead at the half. In the process, the Great Danes made nine of their 11 field goal attempts and went 4-for-5 from three-point range. Cooper and Haegerstand each had six of their points during that span.
Binghamton came out strong in the second half, going on a 10-3 run in the opening 3:46, which trimmed the deficit to 29-25. Bowman led the way during that stretch with four points.
The Great Dane lead was also at four points (43-39) with 6:17 left in regulation. From there, however, they closed out the game with an 9-2 run.
"Albany is a good team and they are in second place (in the America East) for a reason," head coach
Bethann Shapiro Ord said. "They came out in the second period, slowed us down and made some big shots. We had some breakdowns on defense. I loved our effort in the game – especially in the first period – but we couldn't get over the hump in the second half."
Moore finished with seven points while junior guard
Cassidy Roberts blocked a game-high two shots.
Binghamton continued to only be able to dress eight players and the Great Danes had a 17-2 advantage in bench points. They also outscored the Bearcats 34-28 in points in the paint.
The Bearcats took care of the basketball, committing just 10 turnovers.
Binghamton hosts Stony Brook on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
