Bearcats defeat New Hampshire 70-68 in regular-season finale

Box Score

VESTAL, N.Y. - Freshman Rachel Laws (Wyncote, Pa./Cheltenham) nailed an 18-foot baseline jumper with 10 seconds remaining, breaking a 68-68 tie and giving Binghamton (10-15, 6-10 AE) a 70-68 victory over New Hampshire (12-15, 7-9 AE) in an America East game Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Bearcats secured the seventh seed for the upcoming conference tournament, and will meet No. 2 seed Vermont in Thursday's first quarterfinal game at noon from Hartford. The Wildcats will likely take the No. 4 seed into the tournament.

"We executed on the last play and then played nice defense on the final play," associate head coach Rich Conover said. "We're thrilled to win our final home game, and get in a good mindset heading into the tournament."

Binghamton, which trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half, led 62-54 with 5:36 to play before New Hampshire rallied. Sophomore guard Geneva Livingston (Red Bank, N.J.) converted a pair of free throws with 48 seconds left to tie the game at 68-all. After BU junior forward Leala Wegwerth (Maplewood, Minn./Roseville) missed the front end of a 1-and-1, sophomore center Kristin Hibler (Hutchinson, Kan.) collected the offensive rebound with 30 seconds remaining, setting up Laws' heroics. A last second UNH three-point attempt banked off the backboard as time expired.

Freshman guard Jennifer Blues (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley North) scored 13 of her team-high 17 points in the second half, when the Bearcats shot 52% from the floor as a team. Laws wound up with 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting, and Hibler and Wegwerth tallied 10 points apiece. Junior point guard Kate Townley (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall) chipped in seven assists, six rebounds and five steals.

New Hampshire was led by junior center Maren Matthias (Guilford, Conn.), who scored a game-high 23 points. Senior forward Aubrey Danen (Oconomowoc, Wis.) added 16 points.

Binghamton won three of its final five conference games to secure a spot in the eight-team America East Championship tournament. Defending champion Hartford will host the three-day event, March 14-16. The America East champion receives an automatic berth into the NCAA Championship.

NOTES:
Senior Iesha Eldridge (Buffalo, N.Y./Monroe CC) made her final appearance at West Gym and chipped in six rebounds and five points in 20 minutes ... The Bearcats ended the first half on a 12-0 run and began the second half with a 20-10 run ... The 1,163 attendance was a season-high at home.