For Immediate Release: February 23, 2005
Contact: John Hartrick (hartrick@binghamton.edu)
Phone: 607-777-6800

Binghamton women's basketball upsets Hartford 51-37 for third straight win
Bearcats open second half with decisive 18-2 run, move into tie for third place

Box Score

VESTAL, N.Y.--- Binghamton (9-15, 8-7 America East) exploded out of the intermission with an 18-2 run and cruised to a 51-37 win over visiting Hartford (16-8, 10-5 AE) in an America East Conference women's basketball game Wednesday night from the Events Center. The win was BU's third straight and moved the Bearcats into a third place tie in the conference standings, two games behind the Hawks.

Thanks to a game-opening 19-8 run, the Bearcats led 24-20 at halftime after holding Hartford to just six field goals in the first period. Out of the locker room, BU scored nine points in the first 2:14 of the second half and never looked back. The Bearcats stretched the margin to 20 points, 42-22, with 11:34 to play and never led by less than 11 points the rest of the way.

"It was a great win tonight," head coach Rich Conover said. "It was a very physical game between two good defensive teams. We had a great run to start the second half and that propelled us to victory. Our focus at halftime was to get out and run the ball - and we played an outstanding first five minutes build the lead to double digits. Our transition had a lot to do with that. And fortunately our defense dug in and held them to 37 points."

Freshman guard Nicole Lobach (Hanover, Pa.) scored a game-high 12 points and didn't commit a turnover in 38 minutes. She scored four of BU's first seven points during the early second-half run and led the team in scoring for the second time in the last three games. Junior forward Rachel Laws (Wyncote, Pa.) added 10 points and six rebounds. Freshman Laine Kurpniece (Riga, Latvia) chipped in eight points and seven rebounds.

The game was slowed by 43 fouls and 36 turnovers, and several key players in each team were hampered by foul trouble.

"We talked all year about people being ready when their number is called and we had serious foul trouble tonight," Conover said. Juta (Jahilo) gave us some good minutes and Nikki (Lobach) was an absolute leader on floor tonight."

Hartford, which was held 23 points under its season scoring average, had no players in double figures. Junior guards Danielle Wexler and Erika Messam scored eight points apiece.

Binghamton concludes its three-game homestand on Saturday, hosting Boston University at 1 p.m.

NOTES
The 37 points allowed represented the second-fewest in Binghamton's Division I tenure, bested only by the 29 points that BU limited Northeastern to last January 21 ... The Bearcats (8-7) move into a three-way tie for third place in the America East with New Hampshire, which lost at Northeastern, and Vermont, which defeated UMBC.