Feb. 16, 2006 - Shorthanded BU women unable to end February funk

The February slide continues for the Binghamton University women's basketball team.

The Bearcats, who earlier this season were near the top of the America East Conference, dropped their third consecutive game on Wednesday night. This time, it was Boston University handing Binghamton a 77-65 loss at the Events Center in a game that was far more lopsided than the final score indicated.

Binghamton (13-10, 6-6), which had one player quit the team this week and lost another to injury, got off to a sluggish start and never recovered against an energetic Boston team that controlled every aspect of the game.

"I feel like they were much more ready to go," said Binghamton sophomore Laura Sario, who had a team-high 14 points. "They had much more energy than we did."

A month ago, the Bearcats were battling Hartford for first place in the conference. Now, after enduring injuries to seniors Rachel Laws and Jen Haubrich, Binghamton has lost four of five and is tied with UMBC for fourth place.

"I think we're emotionally drained," Binghamton coach Rich Conover said. "We expended a lot of energy in the middle of the season, and now we need to find some more energy at the end."

The Bearcats' problems started before the game did.

First, reserve guard Therese Deemand quit the team and left the university to return home to Denmark. Deemand, a junior, was averaging less than six minutes a game and had scored just 18 points all season.

"It caught me off guard," Conover said of Deemand's decision. "Certainly, it's tough when you don't play. I think for her personally, being at home and going to (a) university there was going to benefit her more."

Then, junior guard Rebecka Lindgren injured her ankle in practice on Tuesday, forcing her to miss Wednesday's game. Lindgren, the Bearcats' back-up point guard who averages 3.6 points per game, is listed as day-to-day.

Binghamton could have used Lindgren's ball-handling presence in the first half. Boston (14-8, 7-4) played an aggressive full-court defense, forcing the Bearcats to commit 14 first-half turnovers.

"That's something we just can't do to win games," Haubrich said.

The Terriers held Binghamton without a field goal for the first seven minutes and led by as many as 16 in the first half.

"I felt from the get-go that our team played with a lot of personality," Boston coach Kelly Greenberg said. "I think sometimes the beginning of the game is so important. If our players feel that things are going their way, then all of a sudden we have more confidence. If you start the game on your heels, it's hard to get it back sometimes."

That was certainly the case for Binghamton, which seemed sluggish on offense. The crisp passes and confident cuts to the basket that the team displayed earlier in the season weren't there.

The Bearcats got no closer than 10 points in the second half, as Boston guard Rachael Vanderwal put on a show. Vanderwal scored 18 of her game-high 29 points in the second half. Vanderwal finished 10-for-14 from the field, including four of five on three-pointers, as Boston led by as many as 22 in the second half.

Jen Blues had 11 points for the Bearcats. Haubrich had 10 points and Laura Franceski had eight points and seven rebounds for Binghamton, which visits first-place Hartford on Saturday. The Hawks are 12-0 in conference play this season.

"What better way to get yourself back on track than to go on the road and take on what is most definitely the top team in the conference," Conover said. "Is our chemistry and everything perfect right now? No, but that's why you play a full season and why you have a conference tournament at the end of the season."

BOSTON 77, BINGHAMTON 65

Boston: Kasey Devine 2 0-0 4; Erica Kovach 3 2-2 8; Christine Kinneary 2 4-6 8; Cheri Raffo 2 2-2 7; Rachael Vanderwal 10 5-6 29; Kristi Dini 0 0-0 0; Corinne Jean 1 0-0 3; Katie Meinhardt 2 0-0 5; Shannon Petranoff 2 0-2 4; Amarachi Umez-Eronini 0 0-0 0; Jesyka Burks-Wiley 4 0-0 9; Totals: 28 13-18 77.

Binghamton: Jen Haubrich 2 6-9 10; Juta Jahilo 1 3-4 5; Laura Sario 5 2-4 14; Jen Blues 5 0-0 11; Shea Kenny 1 2-2 4; Rachel Laws 2 2-3 6; Brianna Thompson 0 0-0 0; Laine Kurpniece 1 3-4 5; Laura Franceski 3 2-2 8; Erin Owens 0 2-2 2; Totals: 20 22-30 65.

Halftime: Boston 37-25. Three-pointers: Boston 8-19 (Devine 0-1, Kovach 0-1, Kinneary 0-1, Raffo 1-2, Vanderwal 4-5, Jean 1-2, Meinhardt 1-4, Burks-Wiley 1-3); Binghamton 3-7 (Sario 2-4, Blues 1-3). Rebounds: Boston 35 (Devine 8); Binghamton 33 (Franceski 7). Assists: Boston 14 (Kinneary 5, Vanderwal 5); Binghamton 9 (Kenny 5). Total fouls: Boston 22, Binghamton 14. Fouled out: Burks-Wiley. Officials: Kathleen M. Lynch, Norma Jones, Timothy Fuller). A: 1,939.