STORY LINES
- Binghamton (14-16, 8-8 AE) is making its eighth appearance in the America East semifinals and its first since 2020. The Bearcats won 56-51 at Bryant in the quarterfinals on Friday evening.
- The Bearcats are also making their 22nd appearance in the America East Tournament since joining the conference prior to the 2001-02 academic year. That also marked the first year that Binghamton competed at the NCAA Division I level.
- Binghamton and Maine are meeting for the second straight year in the America East Tournament. The Black Bears won 64-54 at home in the quarterfinals last year. Maine has won all three previous postseason games against Bearcats, but this is the first time the two teams will square off in the semifinals.
- The last time Binghamton advanced to a conference championship game was the 1999 New College College Conference (NECC) finals. Known then as the Colonials, they were in their first of three seasons competing at the NCAA Division II level.
- Binghamton is facing the top seed in the America East Tournament for the seventh time in program history. Their most recent such matchup came against Stony Brook in the 2020 America East semifinals.
- Against the Bulldogs on Friday, graduate student guard Denai Bowman scored a game-high 24 points while sophomore guard Camryn Fauria added 13 points. Redshirt sophomore guard Jadyn Weltz, meanwhile,game-high five assists to go along with seven points and six rebounds.
- Bowman, Weltz and junior forward Genevieve Coleman were named All-Conference by the America East for the 2023-24 season. Bowman repeated as a second-team selection and was also chosen to the All-Defensive Team. Weltz earned second-team honors while Coleman was chosen to the third team.
- Bowman has now been named both All-Conference and to the All-Defensive Team four straight years. She is just the second Binghamton player to be named America East All-Conference four times during her career, with Andrea Holmes (2008-12) being the other one. In addition, Bowman is the only Bearcat player to be named to the conference's All-Defensive Team four times.
- The three all-conference selections represent Binghamton's highest total since 2016. It also ties the program record for most America East All-Conference selections with 2004 and 2016 being the other two seasons.
- Bowman leads the Bearcats and is ninth in the America East with 12.1 points per game. Redshirt sophomore guard Ella Wanzer ranks second in the conference with 2.4 three-point field goals per game and a .379 three-point field goal percentage. Weltz, meanwhile, is second with 4.5 assists per game and a 1.5 assists-to-turnover ratio.
- Bowman has 1,516 career points and is in fifth place all-time in program history. Against Bryant, she became the fifth player in Binghamton program history to score 1,500th career points.
- As a team, Binghamton is second in the America East with 62.1 points per game and tied for second with 13.47 assists per game. The Bearcats are also second with 6.6 three-point field goals per contest and third with a 0.98 assists-to-turnover ratio.
-Maine (22-9,14-2 AE) defeated UMass Lowell 49-43 in its quarterfinal game last Friday. Adrianna Smith set a new America East record with her 22nd double-double of the season, scoring 14 points and adding 10 assists in the process. Anne Simon and Caroline Bornemann each added 12 points.
- Simon was named both the America East Player and Defensive Player of the Year. She also was chosen first-team all-conference and to the All-Defensive Team. Smith, meanwhile, joined Simon on the first-team.
- Simon (18.7 ppg.) and Smith (16.3 ppg.) rank first and second, respectively, in the America East in scoring. Smith is also ranked first in the conference and No. 10 nationally with 11.1 rebounds per game while Simon ranks third in the conference with 7.3 rebounds per game.
- As a team, the Black Bears are ranked first in the conference with both 64.3 points per game and 37.7 rebounds per contest.
- Maine leads the all-time series 34-15, having won the past nine meetings. Earlier this season, the Black Bears swept both games with a 59-56 decision at the Events Center on Jan. 37 as well as a 56-51 victory in Bangor on Feb. 29. Binghamton's last victory over Maine was a 73-63 home decision on Jan. 18, 2020. The Bearcats' last win at Maine was a 66-62 decision back on Jan. 6, 2018.
- The last time Binghamton advanced to a conference championship game was the 1999 New College College Conference (NECC) finals. Known then as the Colonials, they were in their first of three seasons competing at the NCAA Division II level.
BEARCATS BY THE NUMBERS
.383
Redshirt sophomore guard Ella Wanzer ranks sixth all-time in Binghamton program history with a .383 three-point field goal percentage (150-of-392).
1 and 2
Binghamton and Maine are the top two scoring team in the America East. The Black Bears are first with 64.3 points per game followed by the Bearcats with 62.1 points per contest.
2
Two different Binghamton players have dished out 10 assists in a game this year -- Jadyn Weltz against Canisius on Dec. 8 and Meghan Casey against Army on Dec 20.
3
Binghamton posted three All-Conference selections for just the fourth time in program history. They include graduate student guard Denai Bowman (2nd Team & All-Defensive), redshirt sophomore guard Jadyn Weltz and junior forward Genevieve Coleman.
8
Binghamton is making its eighth trip to the America East semifinals and its first since 2020.
12
As a team, the Bearcats made a season-best 12 three-point field goals against St. Bonaventure on Nov. 18 and against Pittsburgh on Dec. 3.
13 and 9
Freshman guard Bella Pucci finished with a career-high 13 points and a career-best nine rebounds against Chestnut Hill on Dec. 30.
14
Graduate student forward Shannon O'Connor scored a season-high 14 points against Cornell on Nov. 29.
14
Graduate student guard Denai Bowman has 14 career games with 20 or more points. Most recently, she netted 24 points against Bryant in the America East quarterfinals on March 4, 2024.
20
Redshirt sophomore guard Jadyn Weltz scored a season-high 20 points at UMass Lowell on Jan. 20.
21
36
Redshirt sophomore guard Ella Wanzer scored a career-high 36 points against Loyola on Nov. 12.
1,516
Graduate student guard Denai Bowman ranks fifth all time in Binghamton program history with 1,516 career points.
