SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Visiting Binghamton (4-3) had five players reach double figures in scoring, sparking its 63-55 win over San Diego (3-6) in a non-conference women's basketball game on Wednesday morning at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. The victory is the Bearcats second in their last three games.

Junior forward Kendall Bennett led the balanced attack with 12 points. She shot 6-of-7 from the field, blocked a game-high three shots, grabbed three rebounds and dished out a pair of assists.

Three Bearcat players netted 11 points each against the Toreros. They included freshman guards Ashley Redd and Carletta Bennett as well as junior guard Leah Middleton. Bennett also recorded a game-high and career-best seven assists.

Junior guard Bella Pucci, meanwhile, added 10 points. She was 4-for-6 from the field and 2-of-3 from beyond the three-point arc. Pucci has now reached double figures in all seven games this season.

The Bearcats were in control for most of the first half. They used a 14-4 run over an eight-minute stretch to go up 20-8 with 7:43 left in the second period. Middleton had five points and Bennett chipped in four points during that stretch.

Binghamton was still up by 28-21 with 39 seconds left before halftime. Over the next 2:36, however, the Toreros scored 10 unanswered points to go up 31-28. Lilly Amor punctuated the run with a three-point field goal at the 8:03 mark of the third period.

From there, the Bearcats were able to take the lead back with a 9-2 run in the ensuing 4:06 to go up 37-33. Redd scored four of her points during that span.

Up 55-48 with 2:39 left in the fourth period, the Bearcats got three-point field goals by Middleton and Pucci on back-to-back possessions. At that point, the Bearcats were up 61-50 with 1:16 remaining and had the separation they needed to finish out the game.

"We were able to defend a lot better after San Diego came out (strong) in the third quarter," head coach Mary Grimes said. "We were able to grind out the win and we got timely threes from Leah and Bella to get us over the hump." 

Binghamton's win overshadowed a game-high 25 point performance by San Diego's Hallie Rhodes. She was 11-of-16 from the field and sank all three of her free throws. The Toreros also got a 12-point, 16-rebound performance from Alya Williams.

The Bearcats shot 48.1 percent from the field (25-of-52) compared to 33.9 percent (19-of-56) by San Diego. The Toreros, however, held a 37-29 rebounding advantage.

Bench play was a significant factor in the victory. Binghamton got 27 points from its reserves.

Binghamton returns home to face Buffalo on Saturday at 2 p.m. 

NOTES: Grimes now has 75 wins during her coaching career. She has a 75-48 career record. Grimes is in her second year at Binghamton after coaching at Le Moyne from 2021-24.