LOWELL, Mass. – For the first time since 2016-17, Binghamton (11-5, 3-0) has started 3-0 in America East Conference play, after a dominant 80-52 win over UMass Lowell (6-11, 0-3).
Four Bearcats reached double-digits in scoring, with
Kendall Bennett leading the squad with a career high 26 points on 11-14 shooting from the field. She was perfect at the free throw line (4-4) and had eight rebounds, two blocks, and a steal in the victory.
Bella Pucci had 16 points, going 4-7 behind the three-point line.
Yanniah Boyd and
Meghan Casey each tallied 11 points.
"I'm happy with the win," head coach
Mary Grimes stated. "I think our intensity wasn't there for 40 minutes. We won, but I don't think it was as convincing as we could have made it."
The Bearcats got out to a strong start with an early 10-2 lead. Binghamton spread the ball well with five different Bearcats scoring in the opening quarter. The River Hawks generated a few layups to trail only by five to the Bearcats after one quarter of play.
Freshman
Carletta Bennett brought the energy off the bench. She scored four points in eight seconds, while also making an impact on defense with two of her three steals coming in the second quarter.
A much-improved second quarter for the Bearcats saw them drop 26 points to take a 15-point lead entering the halfway mark. The Bearcats improved to 9-2 this season when leading at the half.
The two sides came out of the half refreshed and went back-and-forth with a couple of threes to begin the third quarter. About two minutes in, Binghamton established control with a 9-0 run to go up 57-34. The Bearcats continued to feed Bennett, who dominated with 10 points in the paint in the third quarter alone. Binghamton would go on to lead by 25 points after 30 minutes of play.
The Bearcats' defense highlighted the final quarter, holding the River Hawks to just 11 points. Binghamton went on to reach the 80+ point mark for the fifth time this season (5-0) and has improved to 9-0 this year when the Bearcats lead with five minutes remaining.
Binghamton returns home for its youth education game when they host fellow SUNY school UAlbany on Thursday for an 11 a.m. tip-off.
