VESTAL, N.Y. – Senior guard
Denai Bowman scored a game-high 21 points and redshirt freshman guard
Ella Wanzer added 18 points, lifting Binghamton (12-11, 5-5 AE) to an 80-70 win over UMBC (9-12, 6-4 AE) in an America East women's basketball game on Wednesday night at Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center. The victory is the second straight for the Bearcats who recorded their highest-scoring game of the season.
Bowman, who now has 11 career games with at least 20 points, went 8-for-13 from the field and made five free throws. She also added six rebounds, three assists, three steals and did not commit a turnover. In the process, she raised her career scoring total to 1,122 points, which remains No. 14 all time in program history.
Wanzer, meanwhile, scored all of her points in the second half. She made six of her final nine shots of the game, which included five three-point field goals. Wanzer has now scored 18 points in each of the past two games.
Redshirt freshman guard
Jadyn Weltz turned in a rare point-assists double-double. In addition to her 10 points, she dished out a career-best 12 assists, which ties for the second-highest total in program history. It is also the highest total turned in by a Binghamton player since Stephanie Rom had 12 assists against New Paltz way back on Dec. 5, 1995. Weltz also finished with five rebounds and three steals against the Retrievers.
Senior forward
Clare Traeger nearly had a double-double of her own, finishing with nine points and a game-high 18 rebounds. That ties for the second-highest total of her career. In the past two games, Traeger has averaged 14.0 rebounds.
Also recording a near double-double was sophomore forward
Genevieve Coleman, who finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.
In a contest that featured seven ties and nine lead changes, Binghamton closed out the game against UMBC with a 20-6 run to seal the victory. The Bearcats' 28 points in the final period was their highest 10-minute total of the season.
The score was deadlocked at 68-68 when Weltz swished a three-point field goal with 1:56 remaining in regulation. That shot launched a 10-0 run in a span of 1:25 that gave the Bearcats the breathing room they'd need to lock up the win. Weltz had six points and Bowman added four points during that stretch.
"The biggest key for us at the end of the game came at the defensive end," head coach
Bethann Shapiro Ord said. "We were able to get the stops we needed to and then attacked the basket at the other end of the court. We also shared the ball very well tonight."
Although UMBC came up short, it had five players reach double figures in scoring, led by 17 points from Ashia McCalla. Nia Staples had 12 points, followed by Laycee Drake (11), K.K. White (10) and Kiara Bell, who recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Binghamton out-rebounded UMBC 44-31 and finished with a commanding 23-6 lead in second-chance points. The Bearcats' 21 assists also represented their season high.
The Bearcats' 28-point fourth period is their highest-scoring period since scoring 31 points in the fourth period against Canisius on Nov. 13, 2021.
Binghamton has an open date on Saturday and returns to action at home against New Hampshire next Wednesday at 7 p.m.
NOTES: The program record for assists in a game is 13, which was set by Marlo Foley against Utica on Feb. 14, 1993. Weltz's total is the highest mark since Binghamton moved up to the NCAA Division I level back in 2001 … Binghamton is now a perfect 7-0 this season when scoring at least 70 points and is 9-2 when it has reached the 60-point mark … the Bearcats are now 8-3 at home this season.
