Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
6-4
Binghamton
5-3
Binghamton Escapes Army With 49-47 Win
December 06, 2011 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 6, 2011
WEST POINT, N.Y. - Army erased a nine-point deficit in the final five minutes of the game, but could not complete the comeback as Binghamton escaped Christl Arena with a 49-47 victory in non-conference women's basketball action at on Tuesday night.
Trailing 48-39 with 4:37 to play, Army (6-4) scored eight unanswered points and inch within one (48-47) with 2:03 on the scoreboard. The Black Knights had three possessions in the final two minutes of play and could not convert on any of them. Binghamton's (5-3) Orla O'Reilly missed one of two free throws with 21 seconds to play, leaving the door open for Army to tie or win the game. The Black Knights failed to get a good shot off before the buzzer sounded.
"I'm happy with the fact that we were able to hang around against a very good team," said sixth-year head coach Dave Magarity. "I knew this was going to be a tough game. They have tremendous experience and talent. If I look for something positive, we held a very good offensive team in the 40s. But we struggled offensively and never go into any kind of a flow.
"I think this game came down to defense," he continued. "We allowed them to score some easy points because of a lack of defensive focus at times. Binghamton exploited our inexperience and weaknesses tonight. You live and learn, and hopefully we'll learn something from this."
Junior guard Molly Yardley led the Black Knights with 11 points and tied sophomore Jen Hazlett for a team-high seven rebounds. Junior guard Anna Simmers scored all nine of her points in the second half, including seven over the final five minutes to keep Army in the game.
The Black Knights shot 35 percent (17-of-48) from the floor and hit six of 12 three-point attempts. Army won the battle of the boards by a 37-29 margin.
Junior point guard Liz Benedict and Hazlett both drilled three-point buckets over the first two minutes of play, as Army went ahead 6-2 in the early going. The Bearcats heated up from there, scoring seven of the next nine points to take their first lead of the night (9-8) with 13:53 on the clock.
Army retaliated with four unanswered points, but Binghamton assumed control with a 9-0 run over the next 3:27 to go ahead 18-12 at the 8:40 mark. Goodall and Yardley combined for Army's next five unanswered points as the Black Knights inched within 18-17 with 6:17 to play.
The teams continued to trade buckets, while Yardley's baseline three-ball with just over four minutes to play leveled the score (22-22) for the first time of the night. The teams found themselves tied again (24-24) before Schretzman hit Goodall for an easy transition layup with 31 seconds to play. That would be the final bucket of the first half as the Black Knights entered the break with a 26-24 advantage.
The close play continued into much of the second half as the teams exchanged buckets over the first seven minutes of the frame. Binghamton broke a 31-31 tie with a decisive 12-2 run spanning the next 4:41 as the Bearcats surged ahead 41-33 with under 9:13 to play.
Army pulled within six points four times over the next five minutes, but each time Binghamton answered the call. The Black Knights would not quit, however, as Schretzman's layup (3:31) and Yardley's three-pointer (2:03) from the left baseline pulled Army within 48-47 with two minutes remaining.
As the clock continued to tick down, both teams struggled to find the iron. Yardley's three-pointer would be the final field goal for either team.
Army returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 10, against Pennsylvania. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. at the historic Palestra in Magarity's hometown of Philadelphia.
"Growing up, the Palestra was such a big deal to me," Magarity said. "I played there in high school and have coached there on the men's side. It's just such a special place with a lot of history. I'm looking forward to returning on Saturday against a much-improved Penn team from a year ago."
Game Notes: Junior Liz Benedict started at point guard for the third game in a row ... Army has lost to Binghamton by a combined four points in the last two years ... Army's bench outscored Binghamton's reserves (11-4) ... the Black Knights have lost back-to-back games for the first time this season.
