ORONO, Maine – Binghamton women's basketball (18-11, 10-6 AE) fell to Maine (17-12, 12-4 AE), 74-67 on Saturday. With the loss, the Bearcats officially become the No. 3 seed for the America East Air Force Reserve Women's Basketball Playoffs. Bella Pucci scored a team high 24 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the three point line. Kendall Bennett recorded her 15th double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds and Meghan Casey provided 10 points for the Bearcats.

"You have to give them (Maine) a lot of credit for creating this environment," head coach Mary Grimes stated.

With the home court atmosphere, Maine came out on a high note by scoring 25 points to Binghamton's 12 in the first quarter.

Maine's Adrianna Smith scored eight consecutive points for the Black Bears during one of their offensive runs from the first half, which saw Maine lead as large as 23 points with 7:29 remaining in the second quarter alone. Pucci connected on a couple of late threes to cut into Maine's lead at the half, 58-25.

In the second half, Binghamton generated its offensive opportunities with Bennett, Casey and Pucci getting to the basket and the free throw line. The Bearcats started to stack their points on Maine and saw them get back within single digits, 50-41, with three minutes left in the third quarter.

However, the Black Bears didn't let up and were able to pull ahead once again with a three-pointer by Smith to make it a 61-48 game with 6:14 left to play.

Despite the score, the Bearcats did not give up and continued to drive to the basket and get the points they needed. Bennett scored nine of her 19 points in the fourth quarter, which helped bring the game back to just a two-score game after trailing by as much as 23 earlier in the game.

With under a minute remaining, Pucci connected on a three-pointer that brought the score to 66-61. The Bearcats fouled Maine, allowing them to convert on both of their free throws to extend their lead back out to seven. Pucci would go down the floor and hit the sixth three-pointer of the game, making it a new career high for the junior guard and bringing the Bearcats back within four of the Black Bears.

With under 30 seconds left on the game clock, Maine went to the free throw line two more times, converting on three of the four attempts to lead 71-64.

In need of a quick basket, Pucci went down the floor and hit a deep three for the seventh three-pointer of the game to trail once again by four with 18 seconds remaining.

From there, Maine was able to connect on a few more free-throw attempts, allowing them to hold onto their lead and win at home, 74-67.
 
LOOKING AHEAD:
Binghamton officially enters the AE Playoff as the No. 3 seed for the first time since 2018. The team will host either Bryant or NJIT on Thursday at the Events Center at 6:07 p.m.