FINAL SCORE: Binghamton 64, Vermont 55
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Binghamton junior Imani Watkins led all scorers with 27 points and finished a rebound short of a double-double as Vermont fell to the Bearcats 64-55 at Patrick Gymnasium on Wednesday night.
 
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The Catamounts saw 11 different players ink the points column, led by 13 from Sydney Smith. UVM's efforts on the glass were paced by Hayley Robertson, who pulled down eight boards on the evening.
 
Despite being held scoreless for the game's first three minutes, 40 seconds, UVM's defense stepped up to hold the Bearcats to an initial 2-for-9 performance from the field, surrendering just four points. After Smith buried a 3-pointer with 6:20 on the clock, the teams traded baskets for the remainder of the quarter, the end of which saw the Catamounts trail by five at 15-10.
 
UVM constructed a 6-0 to launch the second stanza, gaining a 16-15 lead after Candice Wright, Lauren Handy and Kylie Butler drained buckets. Binghamton, however, countered with 15 unanswered points before halftime, shooting 4-for-10 from the field and draining 4-of-6 free throws in the span. That ultimately resulted in a 30-16 advantage for the Bearcats going into halftime.
 
The third quarter was highlighted by a pair of 3-point play opportunities for Courtney Wright. With under 6:30 on the clock, Robertson dished to Wright who made the ensuing layup while drawing a foul. Although the subsequent free throw would not go, Kylie Butler stepped in to grab the offensive board and find Wright in a near carbon copy of the previous play. That stretch marked a period of less than a minute in which the Catamounts amassed five rebounds at the offensive end.
 
UVM outscored the Bearcats 21-18 in the final frame and battled hard to narrow the deficit to seven, but a 17-3 run over roughly six minutes was not enough to overcome an overall 22 points in the paint for Binghamton.
 
The leading scorer in America East, Watkins was 11-for-12 on the night from the charity stripe en route to the victory for Binghamton. As a team, the Bearcats were 19-for-23 from the line, outpacing Vermont's 4-for-14 effort.
 
UVM was 35.6 percent from the field on 21-for-59 shooting, while the Bearcats went 19-for-49 on the night (38.8 percent).
 
Wednesday's result puts Vermont at 4-11 on the season and 1-2 in America East action, while Binghamton is now an even 8-8 overall and 3-0 versus conference foes.
 
Vermont now treks to UMBC, taking on the Retrievers in a 1 p.m. matchup from Baltimore on Saturday (Jan. 14).