ORONO, Maine – In a hard-fought battle in Orono, the Binghamton women's basketball team fell just short to No. 2 Maine, 60-56 in the America East Air Force Reserve Women's Basketball semifinal round. Bella Pucci scored a team-high 24 points on 5-for-9 shooting behind the three-point line.

"It was a competitive game. Unbelievable by both sides," head coach Mary Grimes stated. Really proud of our team for fighting for 40 minutes, the way we've done it all year."

The first quarter lived up to the semifinal hype. Binghamton shot 46% from the field to Maine's 29%, with Pucci getting off to a hot start of seven points. Maine was able to counter Binghamton's big first-quarter shots, making it an even score at 15 after the opening 10 minutes of the game.

The second quarter saw each team have opportunities to pull away and take control of the game, but costly mistakes for both sides kept the game even throughout the majority of the second quarter. Maine was able to find a 6-0 run over a lengthy period in the second quarter, which saw them hold a 29-24 lead entering the half.

The Black Bears maintained a comfortable lead by consistently hitting key shots when needed, including three three-pointers that gave them a 10-point lead entering the final period of play.
Once again, the fourth quarter continued to be the Bearcats' best 10 minutes of play, as the team scored 22 points, the most by either side in a single quarter.

A Yanniah Boyd jumper and a Pucci three on back-to-back possessions sparked the offensive surge for Binghamton to begin the fourth. The two sides traded points for the duration of the fourth quarter, but Binghamton was able to cut the lead to three after Pucci fed Bennett on an inbound pass with 2:53 left to play.

A significant difference was Maine's ability to get to the free-throw line; the Black Bears reached the line 20 times, with 14 of them coming in the fourth quarter alone and converting on 12 of them.

With the final seconds ticking away, Binghamton continued to foul Maine in hopes that the Black Bears would miss their opportunities and give the Bearcats a chance, but Maine kept converting on their attempts to keep it a two-possession game.

Carletta Bennett drained a big three with 14 seconds remaining to put the score at 56-53. From there, Maine's Sarah Talon reached the free-throw line four times, making all four shots to seal the victory for the home team.

"Our players don't quit," coach Grimes stated. "I think that's who they are as people, they don't give up, they don't quit and you see it every time we step on the floor."

The Bearcats will wait to see if they clinch one of the postseason tournaments to continue their season on Sunday.