Vestal, N.Y.- The Georgian Court University women's basketball squad put a close to 2016 with a twist Thursday afternoon as the Lions had the unique opportunity to play against Division I competition with a holiday journey to Binghamton University of the America East Conference.

The hometown Bearcats, headed by former Caldwell University head coach, Linda Cimino, improved to 5-7 on the season with a 74-53 victory over the 2-10 Lions. With the setback, the Lions have now dropped eight straight decisions.

Georgian Court jumped out to an initial 9-4 advantage early in the first quarter (5:42) before Binghamton closed out the session with a 14-4 run. The Bearcats increased its lead to a first-half high of 30-18 with 2:55 left before intermission. A quick 8-2 GCU spurt, highlighted by a Jada Atchison jumper at the buzzer, cut BU's lead to 32-26 headed into halftime.

With the luxury of a 10-2 sprint to commence the third period, Binghamton proceeded to coast to the triumph as the Bearcats would lead by double-digits throughout the remainder of the contest.

It was truly an amazing experience for our team," shared GCU head coach, Jazz Perazic. "Starting with Coach Cimino, everyone at Binghamton was exceptionally welcoming, gracious and helpful. Of course, losing is never good, but on the other hand, it is always a great learning experience. Our team continues to improve. There were some flashes throughout this game that show what we are capable of doing. I am certain that all the hard work that we are putting in will finally start to pay off. I love this team and I believe in us ... can't wait for the New Year and continuation of conference play!"

Alliyah Berger, with her second double-double of the year, paced the Lions with her game-high 17 points and 10 rebounds. Atchison tied her season-best (11/16 at Chestnut Hill) with 13 points on the afternoon to go along with five helpers. Destiny Thompson matched Berger with 10 boards of her own while also swatting two Binghamton shots.

Alyssa James (Jr.-Rosedale, N.Y.) topped the Bearcats with her 16 points, followed by Imani Watkins (Jr.-High Point, N.C.) with 15. Kai Moon (Fr.-Bolingbrook, Ill.) fell just short of her own double-double with nine points and nine assists.

The Lions now return to conference action as GCU travels to Concordia College on Wednesday (January 4) with a 6:00 p.m. CACC contest vs. the Clippers.