Lauren Bodine connected on five of seven shots from the 3-point arc on Saturday afternoon en route to a season-high 17 points, helping the University of Maine women’s basketball team earn a 70-56 America East victory over Binghamton at the Events Center in Vestal, New York.
Junior classmate Liz Wood scored 17 points and completed her double-double with 10 rebounds to lead coach Richard Barron’s Black Bears (21-6, 13-1 AE), who crept a half-game ahead of Albany in the conference standings. Wood also provided four assists and three steals.
It was UMaine’s 13th consecutive win and marked the 16th straight game the Black Bears have held their opponent under 60 points.
Mikaela Gustafsson also hit double figures for the Black Bears with 11 points, while Courtney Anderson of Greene and Anna Heise posted seven and six points, respectively. Sigi Koizar made three steals for UMaine, which shot 48 percent from the field (28-for-58).
The Bears outrebounded the Bearcats 34-28 and outscored the hosts 40-18 in the paint. They also held their opponent under 60 points for the 14th straight game.
Binghamton (4-23, 2-12 AE) received a game-high 18 points from freshman guard Jasmine Sina, who hit five 3-pointers. Imanii Watkins (4 assists, 6 steals) netted 13 points and Sherae Swinson registered a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
The Bearcats, who never led, committed 22 turnovers.
UMaine seized the upper hand, outscoring Binghamton 10-0 over the first 5:01.
Wood opened the initial run with a jumper, then Bella Swan made a layup and hit a jump shot 47 seconds later. Wood followed with a close-range basket and added a layup at the 14:59 mark that gave the Bears a 10-0 lead.
UMaine held a 33-19 advantage at halftime.
The Black Bears return to the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor for their final home game of the season on Thursday at 7 p.m. against Maryland Baltimore County.
UMaine extended its lead to as many as 25 points (55-30) on Heise’s layup with 10:20 remaining.