WEST POINT, N.Y. – Redshirt sophomore guard
Ella Wanzer netted a game-high 20 points while sophomore guard
Meghan Casey finished with a career-best 10 assists, powering Binghamton (4-8) to a 73-51 win over Army (3-7) in a non-conference women's basketball game on Wednesday afternoon at the Christl Arena. The victory was the second straight for the Bearcats.
The 73 points against Army ties the Bearcats season high, which they set against Loyola (Md.) on Nov. 12 and also reached against St. Bonaventure on Nov. 18. In addition, Binghamton recorded 21 assists, which ties its season-high that it set at Pittsburgh on Dec. 2.
Wanzer, who has now reached the 20-point mark in scoring seven times during her career, went 7-for-13 from the floor and was 6-of-11 from beyond the three-point arc. She also had three rebounds, three assists and a steal.
Casey, meanwhile, had six points, seven rebounds and three steals to go along with her record number of assists. She was making her third consecutive start.
Also reaching double figures in scoring was redshirt sophomore guard
Jadyn Weltz with 12 points and freshman guard
Bella Pucci with a career-high 11 points. Weltz added four rebounds and a pair of assists while Pucci also recorded her career highs in both assists (three) and steals (three).
Binghamton never trailed against Army. The Bearcats also outscored the Black Knights in each of the four periods. Wanzer scored six of the first eight points of the game as Binghamton quickly vaulted ahead 8-0 with 6:27 left in the first period.
Army got to within 21-18 on a jumper by Trinity Hardy with 6:40 left in the first half but the Bearcats responded with a 10-0 run to go up 31-18 with 3:41 remaining. Weltz had six of her points during that span.
The closest Army came in the second half was 40-29 on a jumper by Soliel Montrose with 5:44 left in the third period. In the final period, however, Binghamton slammed the door with a 12-5 blitz over a span of 3:56 to go up 64-43 with 4:46 remaining. Wanzer and junior forward
Genevieve Coleman each had six points over that stretch.
"It was a great team effort and the girls knew that every possession mattered today," head coach
Bethann Shapiro Ord said. "They played together and are finally starting to realize how special they are."
Kyra Smith led Army with 12 points while Fiona Hastick added 10 points.
Sophomore forward Camyrn Fauria grabbed a team-best nine rebounds to go along with four points, a block and a pair of assists. In her past two games she has averaged 9.5 rebounds per game.
The freshman class of Pucci, forward
Kendall Bennett and guards
Yanniah Boyd and
Kaylee Krysztof combined to score 25 points off the bench.
Binghamton held a 32-24 edge in points in the paint. The Bearcats also shot 45 percent for the game (27-of-59) as opposed to 32 percent for Army (17-of-53).
For her career, Wazner is now shooting .399 from three-point range (118-of-296) and continues to rank third all-time in program history. Her 118 three-point field goals, meanwhile, rank No. 11 all time in program history. In 10
th place, with 120 three-point field goals for her career, is Kim Albrecht.
Binghamton hosts Chestnut Hill on Dec. 30 at 1 p.m.