VESTAL, N.Y.—The UMBC women's basketball team (8-16, 4-7 AEC) lost to America East rival Binghamton (8-15, 6-4 AEC) by a score of 83-66 Saturday afternoon at the BU Events Center. Sophomore guard Carlee Cassidy led the Retrievers with 18 points, and senior guard Kristin Drabyn tied UMBC's career 3-point shooting record in the game.
The Bearcats made six of their first nine shots while the Retrievers missed nine of their first 12, helping the host jump out to a 16-8 lead early in the first half. UMBC cuts its deficit to three points, 18-15, at the 10:27 mark, but Binghamton finished the period with a 24-10 run to take a 42-25 halftime lead.
Binghamton guard Erica Carter led all scorers with 13 points in the first half, while UMBC junior guard Chantay Frazier had a team-best eight. The Bearcats shot 59.3 percent (16-for-27) in the opening period with seven 3-pointers, while the Retrievers made just 37 percent of their shots in the first 20 minutes.
The Retrievers opened the second period with a 14-7 run that cut Binghamton's lead to 10 points, 49-39, at the 13:07 mark, but that was the closest UMBC could get, as the Bearcats outscored the Retrievers, 17-9, over the next seven minutes to take a game-high 18-point lead, 68-49, with 5:52 remaining. Juta Jahilo scored eight points for Binghamton during that stretch.
Drabyn sank the 151st three-pointer of her career with 4:17 remaining in the second half, tying Shalayna Johnson's school record.
Just 3-for-7 from the foul line for the first 37 minutes of action, Binghamton made nine of 10 free throws in the final 3:12 of play to seal the victory.
Cassidy recorded a career-best seven assists to go along with her game-high 18 points. Frazier was named UMBC's America East Player of the Game with 15 points. Freshman forward Meghan Colabella scored nine points on 4-of-5 shooting and added six rebounds and three steals.
Carter and Brianna Thompson led five Bearcats in double figures with 16 points apiece. Senior forward Laine Kurpniece posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds., while forward Laura Franceski had 11 and eight, respectively.
Binghamton shot 51.9 percent in the game while the Retrievers were held to 39 percent. The Bearcats also held a 45-27 rebounding advantage. UMBC committed just eight turnovers in the game, the team's fewest since Nov. 21 at George Mason.
The Retrievers return home to host America East rival Albany on Wednesday, Feb. 20, at 7 p.m.
