VESTAL, N.Y. – Binghamton women's basketball (8-5, AEC 0-0) begins its America East campaign with a road trip to Newark, N.J. where the Bearcats take on NJIT (10-4, AEC 1-0) on Saturday. Tip-off is slated for a 1 p.m. start time at the Joel & Diane Bloom Wellness and Events Center (WEC).

Last Time Out
Binghamton played host FDU on Monday, where they defeated the Knights 62-51. Kendall Bennett registered her fifth double-double of the season with 21 points (career high) and 15 rebounds in the win. The Bearcats broke a 21-game home streak for the Knights that dated back to February 2024, when they lost to Le Moyne 70-60. A squad that head coach Mary Grimes led during her tenure with the Dolphins.
The Bearcats went on to the championship game, where they fell in a tight battle with Penn, 59-54. Bella Pucci recorded a team high 16 points, while K. Bennett registered 15 points and nine rebounds. Bennett would go on to be named to the All-Tournament team.

About the Highlanders

• Coming off an 80-75 win over UMBC in first AEC game of the season
• Senior guard Alejandra Zungia had 39 points (career high) on 13-of-16 from the field. She's had double-digits in scoring in 7-of-8 games played
• Picked to finish fifth in America East preseason poll; Zungia named to preseason All-Conference Team.
• Went 11-19 (AEC 8-8) a season ago, finishing as the fifth seed and losing to Maine in the first round of playoffs, 65-51.

All-Time Series Versus NJIT

• Binghamton leads 7-6 all time.
• The two sides split last year's matchups, winning at each team's home courts.
• In last year's 65-55 win over NJIT, Yanniah Boyd led with a team high 16 points, while K. Bennett provided 16 rebounds and 11 points in the win.

America East Player of the Week
Kendall Bennett was named America East Player of the Week, per league announcement Wednesday morning.  The Philadelphia, Pa. native averaged a double-double (18 points, 12 rebounds) in Binghamton's final non-conference games of the season at the FDU Christmas Classic. Bennett notched her fifth double-double of the season with 21 points (career high) and 15 rebounds in a 62-51 victory over host school FDU. She then followed up with 15 points and 9 rebounds in the championship against Penn.
 
The junior forward was named to the FDU Christmas Classic All-Tournament Team for her two-game performances. She also accumulated two blocks and two assists and made 10 free throws in the tournament.

On the National Scale
Out of 359 teams in the nation, the Bearcats rank 44th in free throw percentage with 75.9, 55th in three-point percentage defense with. 27.1 percent, 68th in steals per game with 10.5 and 70th in turnovers forced per game with 20.15. K. Bennett sits in the top 30 in the nation in double-doubles with five this season.

Bennett's Boards
With 110 total rebounds, Kendall Bennett sits third in the conference, averaging 8.5 rebounds per game. She averages the second most offensive rebounds with 2.8 and fourth in defensive boards with 5.7.

Trust in our Starters
The Bearcats have rolled with the same starting five for all 13 games played thus far (Pucci, K. Bennett, Goode, Middleton, Boyd)

Reflecting on Last Season
During her first season at Binghamton, head coach Mary Grimes led the Bearcats to a 15-15 regular season and 7-9 against conference opponents. The team clinched the sixth seed in the America East Tournament, where they fell to No. 3 Bryant 66-53 in the opening round. The Bearcats return all five starters from that playoff game and will look to make a deeper run with the depth at bench they have this season.