BHS Alums, Morabito & Mills, take down Bearcats

11/27/2012 (Updated 10:55:45 PM)

VESTAL -- Ashley Wilkes and Jamie Ruttle each scored 13 points as Canisius (2-3) held off Binghamton (0-6) in a non-conference womens basketball game on Tuesday night at the Events Center.

The game was televised regionally by Time Warner Cable Sports.
With the loss, the Bearcats are off to their worst start since moving up to the NCAA Division I level in 2001. The previous mark of 0-5 was set by the 2007-08 squad.

Its frustrating to have another loss, head coach Nicole Scholl said. We certainly played well in spurts tonight but we have a young team and once we figure out how to play together for a full 40 minutes, the wins will come.

The loss overshadowed a career-high and game-high 17 points by junior guard Vaneeshia Paulk. She sank 11 of 15 free throws and added six rebounds as well as a pair of assists.

The visiting Golden Griffs took control of the game early, going up 20-8 with 9:53 left in the first half. In the process, Canisius drained three three-point field goals.

From there, the Bearcats clawed to within 29-24 on a layup by sophomore forward Sherae Swinson with 1:35 left in the first half.

At the other end, however, Jen Morabito swished a three pointer with 10 seconds to go, giving Canisius a 32-24 lead at the break.
A 9-0 blitz in a span of 3:49 increased the Golden Griffs lead to 41-26 with 13:47 left in regulation. Ruttle had four of her points during that span.

Senior guard Mallory Lawes stopped the bleeding with a three pointer but Canisius answered with a 10-1 run within 4:09 to go up 51-30 with 9:38 left in the second half.

Binghamton then scored 10 straight points, trimming the deficit to 51-40 with 6:07 remaining. Paulk sank four of her free throws during that stretch.

Paulk brought Binghamton to within single digits, sinking the second of two free throws to make the score 57-48 with 1:30 left to go. Canisius, however, iced the game by going a perfect 4-for-4 at the free throw line the rest of the game.

Swinson and junior guard Jasbriell Swain each scored eight points.

Canisius finished the game 9-for-16 from beyond the three-point arc (56.3 percent).

Binghamton heads to the Arizona State Tournament this coming weekend. The Bearcats will face the host Sun Devils at 3 p.m. EST on Saturday in the first round and either UNLV or Dayton on Sunday at 2 p.m. EST.

(Courtesy BU Athletics)