VESTAL, N.Y. (Interstat) — In a game defined by runs and defensive stands, the Binghamton Bearcats used a dominant first half and weathered a late surge from Lexie Tarul and the Marist Red Foxes to secure a 69-58 victory in a nonconference women’s basketball game Saturday at the Events Center.

A crowd of 1,405 saw the Bearcats improve to 6-3 on the season, while Marist fell to 3-7.

Binghamton set the tone early, leveraging its defense into transition opportunities. The Bearcats opened the game on an 8-0 run, capitalizing on a series of Marist turnovers and missed shots. Carletta Bennett, who finished with 10 points, sparked the initial burst with a layup, followed by consecutive scores from Bella Pucci and Meghan Casey. Marist struggled to find its offensive rhythm, committing five turnovers in the first five minutes as Binghamton built a lead it would never relinquish.

The Bearcats extended their advantage by dominating key statistical categories. They outscored Marist 34-26 in the paint and, more critically, converted 18 Marist turnovers into 26 points. Binghamton’s defensive pressure was omnipresent, led by Kendall Bennett’s four blocked shots and active perimeter defense that contested nearly every Marist attempt.

Despite the early deficit, Marist found a spark in sophomore guard Lexie Tarul. The Bronx native kept the Red Foxes within striking distance with a game-high 24 points, including four 3-pointers. Her back-to-back threes in the second quarter briefly cut into a Binghamton lead that had ballooned to 13 points. Justine Henry provided secondary scoring with 15 points, but the Red Foxes’ offense too often stalled against Binghamton’s physical interior defense.

Binghamton’s offense was balanced and efficient. Kendall Bennett led the Bearcats with 14 points and was a force defensively. Meghan Casey added 11 points, while Kaia Goode provided a key lift off the bench with seven points, including a crucial fourth-quarter three-pointer that stemmed a Marist rally. The Bearcats consistently answered Marist’s mini-runs, maintaining a double-digit lead for most of the second and third quarters by sharing the ball and finding open shooters.

The most pivotal sequence of the game occurred late in the third quarter and bled into the fourth, defining the contest’s outcome. After trailing by as many as 16, Marist mounted a serious comeback attempt. Tarul hit a deep three-pointer at the third-quarter buzzer, pulling the Red Foxes within 52-50 and carrying significant momentum into the final period.

The Red Foxes’ surge continued early in the fourth. Justine Henry completed a three-point play and later hit a three-pointer off an assist from Ciara Croker, capping a 16-5 run that gave Marist its first lead of the game at 57-55 with 6:35 remaining. The Marist bench erupted as the visiting team had successfully erased the substantial deficit.

However, Binghamton responded with immediate and decisive composure. On the ensuing possession, Kaia Goode drained a corner three-pointer off a pass from Yanniah Boyd to reclaim the lead for the Bearcats. Following a Marist miss, Goode drove for a layup to extend the lead to 62-57. The Bearcats then locked down defensively, forcing two critical Marist turnovers over the next minute. Binghamton closed the game on a 14-1 run over the final 6:07, holding Marist without a field goal during that span until a meaningless three-pointer in the final minute. The Bearcats’ defense, which had softened during the Marist run, reasserted itself completely, contesting every shot and sealing the victory at the free-throw line.

Marist will look to rebound when it travels to face Mount Saint Mary’s on Dec. 19. Binghamton faces a quick turnaround with a road test at Syracuse on Tuesday.