VESTAL, N.Y. – For the first time in six years, Binghamton women's basketball (18-9, 10-4 AE) clinched a top 4 seed for the America East playoffs, after beating UMass Lowell (8-19, 2-12 AE) 69-44 on Saturday at the Events Center. This is the first time Binghamton has won 10+ conference games in a season since 2019-20 (10-6).

Kendall Bennett (14 pts, 15 reb) and Bella Pucci (16 pts, 10 reb) each recorded a double-double in Saturday's victory, becoming the first pair of teammates to record a double-double this season. The last time two players recorded a double-double was in 2024 (Denai Bowman & Genevieve Coleman.

Saturday's contest also had multiple career milestones. K Bennett surpassed the 700-point and 500 rebounds mark, while Pucci recorded her 100th three-pointer in the victory.

"Super proud of the team today," head coach Mary Grimes stated. "We really wanted to focus on transition points and points off turnovers, and I felt like we executed that game plan today."

The Bearcats dominated Saturday's game, leading for all but 40 seconds against the River Hawks. Binghamton accumulated 28 points off turnovers, while also dominating the glass with 40 rebounds.

The River Hawks kept it a one-score game in the opening quarter, but quickly were shut down as the Bearcats shot 53% from the field in the second quarter and outscored UMass Lowell 19-7 to bring the score to 36-22 at the half.

Binghamton continued its dominance in the second half, as the Bearcats scored a game-high 21 points in the third quarter. Freshman Ashley Redd and Carletta Bennett made their presence known, as the pair got to the hoop multiple times in the third quarter and would combine for 17 points for the Bearcats.

Kaia Goode and Meghan Casey, who were honored pregame during Binghamton's senior ceremony, lead the Bearcats with the defensive efforts that led to UMass Lowell turning the ball over 16 times in Saturday's contest.

With their largest lead growing as big as 25, the Bearcats managed their game in the fourth quarter to keep UMass Lowell from generating any threatening opportunities and allowing themselves to earn their 10th conference victory of the season.

LOOKING AHEAD
With Saturday's win, the Bearcats clinched a top 4 seed for the America East playoffs, meaning that Binghamton will host the opening round of the AE playoffs on Thursday, March 5. Tickets can be purchased here.

At 9-4, Binghamton currently sits as the No. 2 seed in the America East standings with two games remaining on its schedule. The Bearcats will travel to play against New Hampshire (8-19, 2-12 AE) on Thursday and then wrap up the regular season against Maine (15-12, 10-4) on Saturday.