—UMBC sophomore guard Carlee Cassidy scored 16 points in the final six minutes of play, leading a late Retriever comeback that fell short in a 65-58 loss to America East rival Binghamton Wednesday afternoon in front of a crowd of 1,017 at RAC Arena. More than 800 local elementary and middle school students came out to support the Retrievers for the UMBC's third annual Midday Madness.
UMBC (5-11, 1-2 AEC) could not find the basket in the first half, shooting just 28 percent (7-for-25), while the Bearcats (4-11, 2-0 AEC) seemingly could not miss, making 52 percent of their shots (13-for-25) en route to a 31-16 halftime advantage.
The Retrievers held a 9-5 lead at the 13:38 mark, but Binghamton used a 22-2 run over a 10-minute span to take a 16-point lead. UMBC was held scoreless for six minutes during that stretch.
Binghamton increased its lead to 18 points at 43-25 with 10:40 to play in the second half before the Retrievers began mounting their comeback with a 12-2 run sparked by seven points by senior guard Morgan Hatten that cut the deficit to eight points, 45-37, with 5:59 remaining, which is when Cassidy took over, scoring 16 of UMBC's final 24 points.
Cassidy's 3-pointer with 43 seconds left trimmed the deficit to six points at 60-54, the closest the game had been since it was 16-11 midway through the first half. But the Bearcats' free throw shooting prevented the Retrievers from getting any closer, as they sank seven of eight foul shots in the final 1:06 of play.
Cassidy led the Retrievers with 21 points and seven rebounds, and she drained a game-high four 3-pointers. Hatten, UMBC's America East Player of the Game, scored a career-high 16 points.
Binghamton forward Laura Franceski led all scorers with a career-high 27 points. She made eight of nine field goal attempts and 11 of 14 foul shots to go along with a game-high six blocks.
After making more than half their shots in the first half, Binghamton shot just 30.8 percent (8-for-26) in the second and finished at 41.2 percent on the day.
The Retrievers head back on the road this weekend, traveling to America East rival Vermont for a 1 p.m. game on Sunday.
