VESTAL, N.Y. – Liz Wood finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and three steals, leading top-seeded Maine (23-7) to a 78-71 win over host Binghamton (4-26) in an America East women's basketball quarterfinal game on Saturday afternoon at the Events Center. The game marked the first time that Binghamton has hosted the conference tournament since 2007.
Despite entering the tournament as the No. 8 seed, Binghamton put up an impressive effort against the Black Bears. Freshman point guard Jasmine Sina matched Wood with a game-high 19 points while fellow rookie guard Imani Watkins finished with 17 points and six assists.
Senior forward Sherae Swinson closed out her career with 12 points and three rebounds against Maine. In the process, she finished with 985 career points, which ranks No. 16 all time in program history.
Junior guard Kim Albrecht added 10 points while junior guard Gintare Surdokaite drained three shots from beyond the arc to finish with nine points.
The 71 points, which came against the top defensive team in the America East, represents the second-most points Binghamton has scored in an America East Tournament game. Their best output came in a 72-66 overtime win against UMBC on March 10, 2006.
"I am really proud of how our team competed today," head coach Linda Cimino said. "We had a game plan and stuck with it all the way. Maine is a very good team but I thought we played with a lot of heart and energy."
Maine raced out to a 15-8 lead in the opening five minutes and were up by as much as 29-16 with 5:54 left in the first half. Binghamton, however, came storming back to get to within 34-32 at the break.
In the second half, the Black Bears appeared to take control of the game as they went up 63-50 with 9:32 remaining in regulation. Binghamton, however, refused to go quietly, pulling to within 72-67 with 2:01 left to go.
Neither team scored in the ensuing minute of play but the Blacks Bears were a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 42 seconds to seal the win.
Mikaela Gustafsson added 17 points for Maine while Bella Swan added 15 points and Sigi Koizar chipped in 14 points.
(Courtesy: Binghamton Athletics)
