DURHAM, N.H. – Host New Hampshire (5-17, 2-9 AE) had three players reach double figures in scoring and defeated Binghamton (5-16, 1-10 AE) 54-51 in an America East women's basketball game on Saturday afternoon at Lundholm Gym. The game marked the first of three straight road contests that the Bearcats will play in a five-day stretch.

Brooke Kane led the Wildcats with 13 points, going 6-for-9 from the field. Bella Stuart and Helena Delaruelle each added 10 points.

The loss overshadowed a game-high 23 points by junior forward Birna Benonysdottir. She went 9-for-18 from the field and 5-for-9 from three-point range.

Benonysdottir now has four career games with at least 20 points. She came into the game against New Hampshire ranked second in the America East with 14.5 points per game.

Junior guard Denai Bowman filled up the stat sheet with 12 points, five rebounds, seven assists and four steals. The seven assists ties her career high, which she set against Ohio back on Dec. 21.

Benonysdottir had 16 of her points in the opening period as the Bearcats took an 18-16 lead. She had 21 of her points by halftime but the Wildcats took a 33-31 lead at the break.

The Wildcats built their lead to as much as 51-44 when Stuart hit a jumper with 4:58 left in regulation. From there, however, the Bearcats went on a 7-1 run to trim the deficit to 52-51 with 36 seconds left to go. Bowman punctuated the spurt with a steal and jumper.

With six seconds remaining, Ivy Gogolin nailed a mid-range jumper, padding the Wildcat lead to 54-51. Binghamton then missed a game-tying three-point field goal at the buzzer.

New Hampshire shot 43.6 percent for the game (24-55) compared to 38 percent for the Bearcats (19-50). The Wildcats also held a commanding 34-18 advantage in points in the paint.

The Bearcats came into the game leading the nation in three-point field goal percentage defense (.210). That trend continued as they held the Wildcats to just 1-of-8 from beyond the three-point arc (.125).

Junior forward Clare Traeger grabbed a game-high nine rebounds to go along with five points and a block. She entered the game against New Hampshire leading the conference with 8.6 rebounds per night.

Junior guard Cassidy Roberts dished out three assists and blocked a game-high two shots.

Binghamton travels to UMass Lowell on Monday for a 5 p.m. game.