VESTAL, N.Y. — Binghamton University outscored the University of Maine 16-0 during the last five minutes of the first half, then stretched its lead in the second half en route to a 72-54 America East women’s basketball victory at the Events Center on Monday night.
The Black Bears (3-11, 0-1 AE) committed 23 turnovers and allowed the Bearcats (7-7, 1-0 AE) to shoot 52 percent (29 for 56) in the contest. It was the eighth straight loss for coach Richard Barron’s squad.
Orla O’Reilly (five assists) scored 16 of her 22 points in the first half and Viive Rebane (eight rebounds, eight assists, four steals) tossed in 18 of her game-high 26 points in the second half to propel Binghamton. The Bearcats also received 15 points and five assists from Andrea Holmes.
The hosts committed 13 turnovers.
“Our problem was the same as it has been all year long,” Barron told Don Shields of the Black Bear Sports Network, “We didn’t do a very good job taking care of the ball.”
Senior guard Brittany Williams sparked the UMaine offense with a career-high 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting. Senior Samantha Baranoski posted 11 points, while freshman forward Danielle Walczak contributed nine points and eight rebounds.
“I thought we got some good efforts out of those three, but it’s a team game and three people can’t compensate for all those turnovers,” Barron said. “We had 23 and a lot of them were just baffling.”
The Black Bears shot a healthy 46 percent (21-for-46) from the floor. The teams wound up even with 27 rebounds each.
UMaine had scored the first six points of the contest, but wound up coming unglued while committing 16 first-half turnovers.
The Bearcats finally found a rhythm late in the first half, turning a four-point deficit into a 37-25 advantage.
Courtney Anderson of Greene had given the Bears a 25-21 lead with a jumper at the 5:05 mark, but Binghamton dominated the rest of the half.
During the last five minutes, UMaine committed four turnovers that led to seven points by the Bearcats and the Bears went 0-for-3 from the field.
Rebane opened Binghamton’s decisive run with a jumper at the 4:45 mark, then O’Reilly hit a 3-pointer after a Kara Elofson offensive board and pass to put the hosts in front 26-25.
After a UMaine miss, O’Reilly sank two free throws, then Holmes answered another miss by the Bears with a jump shot at the 2:06 mark. O’Reilly knocked down a 3-pointer after a turnover, then scored a layup off another UMaine miscue to give Binghamton a 35-25 edge with 1:06 to play.
One more turnover resulted in a layup by Elofson that extended the lead to 12 at the break.
“You give a team confidence like that, they start clicking,” Barron said. “They really shot the ball well. You’ve got to give them credit. They’ve got some good players on that team.”
UMaine returns to action Saturday against the University of Maryland Baltimore County. The Bears’ noon game opens a home doubleheader at Alfond Arena that will feature the UMaine and UMBC men at approximately 2:30 p.m.
Mr Abbot as comments before this shows, terminating Cindy Blodgett for youre something better, didnt pan out. You just cant get women that can play ball to come up here. And as far as I can see, Cindy did just as good job if not better than her replacement.
Mr.Abbott didnt want blodgett to have a winning season that why he got rid of her..Theres alot of talent with that new freshman class that just came in,has anyone listen to coach Barron after a game and hear the things he says about the girls?? If not u people should listen to him,if i had a daughterplaying for him,she would be of the team. From what i hear around town hes not very well liked from some of the players…just what ive heard….
When you only win 24 games in 4 years. Her record is more than enough reason to fire her. Her teams were abysmal they regressed in terms of their play. Her attitude drove alot of the players away from the team they either quit or transfer to another college. She made excuses about her bad coaching. The program needs experience coaching. They also need to look at the future. Being in America East is not the future. Maybe being in the CAA in all sports would be better for them in the long run. They need to do everything it takes to not only get the program back but bringing back the fans, donors, sponsors etc. that they have lost.
I disagree Blodgett’s teams were awful they got blown out in most games. The princess wore out her time it was time to go. Her supporters are in denial the team was going backwards under her leadership. She had good players either quit or transfer. Give Coach Barron time he hasn’t had much time to turn this program around all of these players are Blodgett’s recruits. I think he will do a better job recruiting kids, also playing in one of the worst leagues in college sports doesn’t help either. I think the future is bright with Richard Barron as coach. Cindy would have been more of the same and would have driven more folks who support the program away.
You don’t have a clue about this stuff do you? You just really liked Cindy. Well, that’s ok. “Cindy did just as good job if not better than her replacement.” Sure she did. I mean, you can certainly make a valid comparison at this point, right?