Women’s Basketball Defeats UMBC 58-48

2/13/2025 9:19:00 PM | By: David O'Brian (dobrian@binghamton.edu)

Meghan Casey

Pucci leads balanced attack with 17 points and seven rebounds

Box Score VESTAL, N.Y. – Sophomore guard Bella Pucci scored a team-best 17 points, leading Binghamton (13-12, 5-7 AE) to a 58-48 win over UMBC (12-11, 5-6 AE) in an America East women's basketball game on Thursday evening at Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center. The victory was the Bearcats' second triumph in their past three games.

Pucci's 17 points tied her career high, which she set back on Dec. 20 against Molloy. Against UMBC, she shot 6-for-7 from the field, 3-of-4 from three point range and sank both of her free throws. Pucci also tied for the team lead with seven rebounds, and tallied an assist, a block and a steal.

Sophomore guard Meghan Casey added a season-high eight points in the win while sophomore guards Leah Middleton and Yanniah Boyd as well as redshirt junior Jady Weltz each chipped in seven points. Middleton also tied Pucci for the team high with seven rebounds - one more than Boyd who finished with six.

Pucci scored 11 of her points in the first half as the Bearcats took a 31-24 lead at the break. She was a perfect 3-for-3 from the field - all from beyond the three-point arc - and canned her pair of free throws.

The Bearcats finished the first half with a 10-2 run over the final 2:50 to take the lead for good. Casey had five of her points during that stretch, including a three-point field goal right before the buzzer.

From there, Binghamton built its lead to as much as 48-35 when Pucci converted a layup with 1:17 left in the third period. Over the remaining 11 minutes of play, the Bearcats maintained at least an eight-point cushion.

"It was a great defensive effort on both sides," head coach Mary Grimes. "We figured out how we needed to help each other on offense and we rebounded the ball very well tonight."

Sophomore forward Kendall Bennett recorded a career-high four blocks to go along with seven rebounds and four points. Junior guard Kaia Goode dished out a game-high six assists.

For UMBC, the loss overshadowed a game-high 20 points by Jordon Lewis. Teammate Jaden Walker added 10 points and seven rebounds.

Binghamton shot 50 percent from three-point range (8-of-16) as well as 74 percent from the free throw line (14-of-19).

The Bearcats host NJIT on Saturday at 2 p.m.

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Pucci leads balanced attack with 17 points and seven rebounds

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