The University of New Hampshire (UNH) Wildcats (6-17, 3-9) successfully snapped their five-game losing streak with two wins in three days. It is the first time that the team has won consecutive games since the 23rd of November.  

On Saturday afternoon, UNH faced off against the Binghamton Bearcats (5-17, 1-11) from the Lundholm Gymnasium in search of their first win in 24 days. The game got off to a rocky start after Bearcats’ junior forward Birna Benonysdottir dropped 16 points and four three-pointers in the first quarter. After her fourth triple, you could hear the oohs and ahs from the fans in attendance. 

The Wildcats kept it close throughout the first half as junior guard Brooke Kane chipped in 11 points to go along with some flashy passes – she finished with 13 on the game.  

“I just went out there and had fun and tried not to get too in my head about it,” Kane said.  

Head coach Kelsey Hogan could not be prouder of Kane’s continuous growth throughout the season.  

“She’s been practicing very well, she’s buying in, getting better every day,” explained Hogan. “I’m really happy with her efforts.”  

At halftime, UNH led 33-31.  

Senior Ivy Gogolin got the third quarter started with four quick points to give the Wildcats some much-needed momentum. After three quarters, the ‘Cats had a 41-40 lead. The team had been outscored in the previous two games 45-11 in the fourth quarter, albeit without key players and while forced to implement minute restrictions on others. 

UNH had a steadier fourth quarter this time around, utilizing quick ball movement to set up high percentage looks under the basket. The Wildcats saw their 51-44 fourth-quarter lead shrink to 52-51. However, they were able to exorcise their fourth-quarter demons after a clutch Gogolin jump shot from the top of the key.   

The Bearcats had the game-tying shot roll around and out at the buzzer. It was a big character win for UNH. They finished the game shooting over 43% from the field and held Benonysdottir to just two second-half points.  

“We got into our young ladies. [Benonysdottir] a very versatile player, a tough player, and we knew it would be a tough matchup,” explained Hogan. “At halftime, our adjustment was absolutely no help and our young ladies bought into it.” 

UNH followed up one character win with another just two days later. The Wildcats traveled to Hartford to take on the Hawks (2-21, 2-10).  

It wasn’t the start the ‘Cats were looking for as UNH found themselves down 41-22 at the half.  

Nonetheless, the team rallied once again, outscoring Hartford 27-6 in the 3rd quarter.  

Led by senior guard Sophia Widmeyer with 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting and graduate student guard Amanda Torres with 14 points and 5-for-12 from the field, UNH held on for a big 61-59 road win.  

“We’ve had some close games and we were due for one and we’ve been learning from each game leading up to this one so it’s good to finally put out a close one,” Kane explained after Saturday’s win over Binghamton. The ‘Cats can now make that two in a row.  

The Wildcats return to action on Wednesday night against Vermont (15-10, 9-5) at 6 p.m. They’ll set out for their first three-game winning streak of the season.  

Photo courtesy of UNH Athletics