Vestal, N.Y. - Erica Carter scored a game-high 21 points, nailed five of her seven field goals from behind the arc and hit the game-clinching free throws in leading Binghamton to a 65-60 victory over UAlbany on Saturday, Jan. 30 at the Events Center. Melia Basavand nailed three of her four second-half shots from long range down the stretch to help the Great Danes close to within a point with under two minutes left, but a clutch field goal by Jackie Ward in addition to Carter's free throws allowed the Bearcats to survive the scare and hang on for their second straight win.
     UAlbany (7-14, AE 0-8), which trailed by a 27-19 score at the break, came out strong to start the second half and trimmed the lead down to just two at 33-31 when Julie Forster laid in a floater directly after blocking a Bearcat shot on the other end. Coming out of a timeout, Binghamton got 3-pointers from Andrea Holmes, the league's rookie of the year last season, and Carter to bump its lead up to eight.
     The Great Danes used the long ball to hang around and came within three points on three occasions, and Basavand hit one of her four trifectas in the half to make it a 57-55 game with three minutes left. However, Viive Rebane, who scored 15 of her 19 points in the second half, made a bucket and two free throws to shake off the run.
     UAlbany, which had been trailing since the 4:17 mark of the first half, came storming back once again. Basavand, the team's player of the game, canned another three from NBA range and Iromuanya added a free throw to close the gap to a single point at 61-60 with 1:18 left.
     Following a timeout, Ward, who missed her team's last game with an ankle injury, hit a key turnaround shot from the right elbow to put the Bearcats up three with 49.2 second left. After Iromuanya came driving down the right side and missed a layup, Carter, the team's player of the game, made two clutch free throws with 24.4 seconds on the clock to make it a two-possession game.
     Felicia Johnson came back the other way and missed a running jumper, but got her own rebound and signaled for a timeout with 10.1 seconds on the clock. However, Basavand's ensuing inbounds pass was bobbled by Keyana Williams and stolen by Holmes at midcourt. The point guard dribbled out what was left on the clock.
     "We are not winning games, but we are getting better and starting to find ways to penetrate zone defenses," said head coach Trina Patterson, whose squad faced another zone defense after seeing man-to-man throughout the non-conference schedule. "They made the plays they needed to down the stretch. I was happy to see Melia make so many shots against their zone, and for the first time in awhile we finished with 14 assists. That shows that we are sharing the ball more."
     UAlbany jumped out to a 10-4 lead and forced Binghamton to burn a quick timeout with 16:21 left. Ebone Henry made a 15-foot jumper and a three-pointer from the left wing to ignite the fast start.
     Binghamton (8-13, AE 4-4), which won both meetings last year by a combined seven points, clawed back and ended the half on a 15-2 run while keeping the Great Danes off the board for the last 6:44. Carter, who entered the week ranked second nationally for canning 3.8 three-point field goals per game, hit two in a row from downtown to close out the period.
     Henry led three Great Danes who scored in double figures with 13 points. She also grabbed seven rebounds. Basavand scored all 12 of her points from behind the arc in the second half, while Johnson added 10 points and matched her career high with six assists. Williams finished with six points and a career-best 12 boards.
     In addition to Carter, the Bearcats were also paced by Rebane's double-double. The sophomore contributed 19 points and 11 boards. Holmes ended the game with six points and eight assists, while Orla O'Reilly netted nine.
     "This upcoming homestand is going to be very important to gain momentum," added Patterson, whose team will play its next four games at SEFCU Arena beginning with the Big Purple Growl against Vermont on Saturday, Feb. 6. "Our goals are to at least split it and go at least 4-4 the rest of the way. We are going to be better the second time around."

Binghamton 65, UAlbany 60 (1-30-10 at Vestal, N.Y. - Events Center)

ALBANY 60

Binghamton 65