HACKENSACK, N.J. – Binghamton women's basketball (8-5) fell in a close bout to Penn (10-3), 59-54 in the championship game of the FDU Christmas Classic Tournament on Tuesday afternoon.
Kendall Bennett and
Bella Pucci combined for 31 points, with Bennett also registering a team-high nine rebounds, just one short of recording three straight double-doubles.
Meghan Casey had nine points and went 2-3 from beyond the arc.
Yanniah Boyd tallied six rebounds.
"I think we got what we wanted, we just weren't making the shots." head coach
Mary Grimes said in closing minutes of the game. "It was a really competitive game. I think we got down early, we were able to fight back. I think we're going to learn a lot of lessons as far as how we need to take care of our body and how we need to just mentally prepare and be ready to go from the jump."
The first half was highlighted by each team's defense, holding each squad to under 30 points through two quarters. Binghamton shot great behind the three-point line, shooting 62.5 percent on eight shot attempts. Casey and Pucci combined for five threes in the first half.
Penn took control in the third quarter, shooting their best percentage of the four quarters (60.0 percent) while holding Binghamton to only five points. The Quakers' lead got as big as 14 and had a 45-33 lead entering the fourth.
Binghamton climbed back with a strong fourth quarter. Penn's defense has held their opponents to an average of just 12 points in the fourth quarter, but the Bearcats were able to tally 21 points against Penn's defense, the most by either team in any quarter.
Pucci hit a clutch three with 00:35 seconds left in the game to cut into Penn's lead and trail only by three. However, the Quakers were able to hold on and reach the foul line to submit the final score at 59-54.
K. Bennett was named to the All-Tournament Team after registering a total of 36 points and 24 rebounds. Penn's Katie Collins was named MVP after scoring 21 points in the championship game.
With non-conference play now over, Binghamton will move on to 2026 ready to begin its America East campaign, beginning with a game on the road in Newark, N.J., against NJIT on Saturday.
