BALTIMORE - After a thrilling overtime victory over UAlbany on Saturday afternoon, UMBC heads to Binghamton for a rematch of January 17's 64-58 victory for the Retrievers. UMBC sits at 11-10 and 6-3 in the America East, while Binghamton enters at 15-6 and 7-1 in the league.
Saturday will be the 49th all-time meeting between UMBC and Binghamton with the Bearcats holding a 33-15 advantage in the series. UMBC ended a three-game losing skid to Binghamton with the victory earlier this season. UMBC came away victorious, 64-58, holding off a late push from the Bearcats. Tillman had 21 points and 11 rebounds in the win, while Williams finished with 17 points and six rebounds off the bench. Pucci had 13 for the Bearcats.
LAST TIME OUT
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After a gutty 55-46 victory over UAlbany on Saturday afternoon, UMBC hits the road for a rematch with Binghamton on Thursday evening. The Retrievers enter the contest at 11-10 and 6-3 in America East play. Trailing 46-41 with 3:22 to play, UMBC did not allow UAlbany to score for the final 8:22 of the contest, including overtime, using a 14-0 run to earn a nine-point win. Alaina Williams made two free throws with 37 seconds remaining to tie the game at 46. UMBC got the job done at the line in OT as well, scoring seven of its nine points from the stripe while forcing six Great Dane turnovers in the extra period.
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Also winning in overtime back on Thursday evening, Binghamton defeated Bryant 66-64 to win its third straight game and improve to 15-6 (7-1). With a win over Vermont in early January, the Bearcats' only blemish remains a loss to UMBC. Binghamton utilized a furious fourth-quarter comeback, trimming a 15-point deficit, and tying the contest with a Meghan Casey three-pointer with 22 seconds left to force OT. Carletta Bennett gave the Bearcats the lead with 29 seconds remaining and Bryant's Martina Boba missed a three at the buzzer to secure the Binghamton win.
SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
- Kendall Bennett is the top scorer for the Bearcats, averaging 14.3 points and 9.1 rebounds per game this season. Bennett has recorded nine double-doubles this season, including three in four games between Jan. 15 and Jan. 24. Bennett has seen an uptick in league play, averaging 16.0 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. She scored just three points on five shots in the first meeting with the Retrievers, one of just four games this season in which she didn't reach double figures.
- Bennett ranks in the top 50 nationally in multiple statistical categories, none more impressive than placing seventh in the country with a field goal percentage of 62.1. She is 27th in the country in double-doubles and also ranks 42nd in rebounds per game and 48th in total rebounds.
- Bella Pucci joins Bennett as the team's second-leading scorer, but also the only other Binghamton player to start all 21 games this season. Pucci averages 14.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game. Pucci has scored 12 or more points in nine straight games, averaging 15.4 points and 3.5 rebounds in America East play. Pucci has hit 14 threes and made 36 percent of her shots from distance in eight league games.
- Meghan Casey, Thursday's hero to force overtime, has ticked up to 10.0 points per game in America East play, up from 8.4 for the season. Casey has five games of 10 or more, including a season-best 23 against NJIT on Jan. 3.
- Binghamton is lethal from the free-throw line, knocking down 77.2 percent of its free throws. That mark is good for the top of the America East and 23rd in Division I. Five different players are shooting 80 percent or better from the line with 20 or more attempts. Pucci (84.6) and Bennett (81.6) are both over 80 percent on more than 75 attempts.
- Mary Grimes is in her second season as the head coach at Binghamton. She sits at 30-21 overall, joining the program after three seasons as the head coach at Le Moyne. With the Dolphins, Grimes went 56-30, going 21-7 in 2022-23. Grimes was the 2023-24 NEC Coach of the Year. Grimes has spent time at Cavier, UAlbany, and Syracuse after graduating from Siena in 2003.
SCOUTING THE DAWGS
- Jade Tillman leads the way for the Dawgs offensively, averaging 14.9 points per game in 2025-26. Tillman has scored 10 or more points in 14 straight contests. Over that 14-game stretch, Tillman is averaging 17.0 points per game and 7.3 rebounds per game. Tillman was the first player in nearly a decade to record three straight double-doubles, finishing with 21 points and 10 rebounds, 21 points and 11 rebounds, and 17 points and 10 rebounds in three straight games. Shooting 86.3 percent from the charity stripe, Tillman ranks second in the conference and 39th nationally. Her 88 made free throws is good for 55th in Division I.
- In her last 10 games, the five-time America East Rookie of the Week, Heidi Williams, has recorded a pair of double-doubles, and is averaging 12.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.3 steals per game. She recorded her first Division I double-double on Saturday against UAlbany, recording 14 points and 10 rebounds.
- Carmen Yanez sits seven assists shy of 250 for her career and five assists shy of 13th all-time in Retriever history. She surpassed Te'yJah Oliver for 14th in program history, now sitting with 237 assists. Yanez has eight games this season of five or more assists.
- UMBC ranks second in the America East and ninth nationally in three-point percentage defense. Opposing teams are knocking down just 25.5 percent of their tries from deep against UMBC. The Retrievers have held their opponent to three or fewer triples in 11 different games. Opponents have also shot 30 % or worse from deep in 11 different games this season.
- Continuing to pound the offensive glass, UMBC sits 30th in the country in offensive boards per game with 14.8. The Retrievers have 20 or more offensive boards in five games this season and 15 or more in 10 games this season.
- The Retrievers also rank 46th in free throws made per game (14.52), 49th in scoring defense (58.3), and 59th in free throw attempts per game (19.95).
ROOKIES RUNNING WILD
- On Monday, Heidi Williams became the second player in UMBC history and first since 2014 to receive five or more America East Rookie of the Week honors. Williams joins Sara Tarbert (2013-14) as the only two Retrievers with five or more Rookie of the Week honors.
- Williams has received the award in three straight weeks, giving UMBC seven Rookie of the Week honors this season.
NOTHING BUT NET
- As of Tuesday, Feb. 3, UMBC ranks 204th in the NCAA's NET rankings. In the NET era, UMBC had never reached higher than 269 in the rankings prior to the 2025-26 season. The Retrievers reached 187th earlier this season, the program's highest-ever ranking.
- UMBC is 1-1 in Quadrant 1 with a win over Virginia and a loss to Maryland.
- Binghamton enters Thursday's contest 155th in the NET.
- UMBC in the Comprehensive WBB Rankings - NET - 204 | Massey - 262 | KPI - 197 | Her Hoops - 208
HISTORY MADE
- UMBC's victory on the road at Virginia was a historic one for the Retrievers. UMBC never trailed, allowing Virginia to tie the contest once in the fourth before fighting off the Cavalier rally for a 61-56 victory.
- The win on Thursday was the first Power 4 (ACC, SEC, Big 10, Big 12) victory in UMBC program history, snapping a streak of 38 straight losses against such programs. UMBC was previously 0-4 all-time against Virginia and 0-15 against the ACC.
- The 64 percent UMBC shot from three in the win proved to be its best showing from distance since shooting 66.7 percent from deep at George Mason in December 2024.
- Candice Hill's program shocked the Cavaliers from the jump, building an 11-2 lead in the first four minutes of the contest. The lead grew to 14 midway through the second quarter as Yánez drilled a three to make it 33-19 Retrievers. UMBC took an eight-point lead into the break and led by 12 at the 7:40 mark of the third as Williams connected from deep, but UVA was able to trim the deficit to one with 37 ticks left on the third quarter clock. Kennedy Austin found Scott open for three with 11 seconds remaining in the third to put the Retrievers up by four entering the final quarter of play. Virginia tied the game at 54 with 3:13 to play, but the Cavaliers never took the lead as the Retrievers held on to win on the road. Tiara Bellamy went baseline, converting a reverse layup with 28 seconds left to put UMBC up by three. Virginia once again pulled within one, but Williams made four free throws in the final six seconds to ice the game.
GETTING TO KNOW THE DAWGS
- Hill's program features five returners and eight newcomers in 2025-26. Carmen Yánez is the lone returning starter for UMBC, while fellow captain Tiara Bellamy is expected to fill a larger role. Also back are junior Alaina Williams, and sophomores Lauren Thompson and Kenya Ramsey.
- UMBC's eight newcomers are split between four transfers and four freshmen.
- The 2025-26 Retrievers represent three countries and six states.
- Maryland (5) -> Austin, Scott, Tillman, H. Williams, Yarborough
- New Jersey (2) -> Bellamy, Slomack
- Connecticut (1) -> Thompson
- Florida (1) -> A. Williams
- Virginia (1) -> Ramsey
- West Virginia (1) -> Jones
- Spain (1) -> Yánez
- England (1) -> Crowley
- Yánez, Bellamy, and Yarborough will captain the program in 2025-26. Yánez started 28 games last season and handed out five or more assists in seven different games. Bellamy averaged just under four points per game off the bench in year one as a Retriever after transferring from Saint Peter's. Yarborough, the veteran transfer from NC A&T, posted five games with at least five rebounds and put forth her best performance of the season (9 pts, 6 reb) against her former school, Stony Brook.
2024-25 IN REWIND
- The 2024-25 Retrievers posted a record of 14-15 in year one under Candice Hill, matching the 2022-23 record for the most wins since 2016-17 for UMBC women's hoops.
- UMBC reached the America East Conference Tournament as the #7 seed before falling to #2 Vermont, 70-39. The Retrievers held a two-point lead after the opening 10 minutes before the Catamounts pulled away.
- The name of the game for the Retrievers in 2024-25 was defense as UMBC ranked in the top-65 in the country in scoring defense, allowing just 59.1 points per game. The Retrievers defended the three-point line extremely well, finishing the season 37th in Division I and second in the America East as teams shot just 28.1 percent from deep.
- UMBC was also stellar at the charity stripe last season, knocking down its free throws at a 74.7 percent clip, ranking in the top-80 in Division I and recording the third-best mark in program history.
- Under Hill's guidance, the Retrievers improved offensively from behind the three-point line (29.5% -> 30.4 %) and the free-throw line (67.8% -> 74.7%). The Retrievers also handed out 10.4 assists per game compared to 9.9 the season prior and turned the ball over 1.3 fewer times per game in 2024-25.
AMERICA EAST PRESEASON POLL
1. Vermont 63 (7)
2. Maine 55 (2)
3. Bryant 46
4. UAlbany 42
5. NJIT 37
6. Binghamton 26
7. New Hampshire 24
8. UMBC 23
9. UMass Lowell 8
WHAT'S NEXT
