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BURLINGTON, Vt. – Kylie Butler and
Niki Taylor combined for 25 points and 12 rebounds for Vermont, but the Bryant Bulldogs used a solid second half effort to post a 72-55 win over the Catamounts in non-conference women's basketball action at Patrick Gymnasium on Tuesday night.
Bryant improves to 2-0 on the year, while Vermont falls to 0-2 on the season.
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Photo Gallery Jenniqua Bailey led all scorers with 27 points and added six rebounds to lead the Bulldogs. Breanna Rucker added a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds and Morgan Olander rounded out the double digit scorers with 12 points and eight boards.
Butler paced Vermont with 15 points and five rebounds, while Taylor chipped in 10 points and grabbed a team-high seven boards.
The Catamounts jumped out to a 9-4 lead to open the game. Bryant answered with a 16-5 run, going 7-for-11 from the field in the spurt, and opened up an eight-point advantage, 24-16, with 5:21 remaining in the half.
UVM climbed back within four on a basket by Butler, but Bryant pulled out in front by nine with 1:51 left.
Kylie Atwood's 3-pointer at the halftime horn sliced the lead to six, 29-23, as the teams went to the locker room.
The Bulldogs used an 8-2 run to extend their lead to 12 in the opening minutes of the second half. At the 10:42 mark, Bryant held an 11-point lead, but the Catamounts chipped away to climb back within four, 44-40, with 9:17 left in the game. Butler scored five points in the spurt to fuel the run.
Olander answered with back-to-back layups for Bryant to push the margin back to nine with 7:56 remaining. Vermont closed in on the Bulldogs again, coming within five with 5:43 left, but that's as close as UVM would get the rest of the way.
Vermont travels to Boston U for a 2 p.m. game at Case Gymnasium on Saturday (Nov. 22) in the first road game of the regular season for the Catamounts.
The game can be heard on WVMT-620 AM (online: SportsJuice.com) with Kevin Fitzgerald calling the action. The game will also be streamed on the Patriot League Network at campusinsiders.com.