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BURLINGTON, Vt. - The women's basketball team hosts Hartford in the first game of the 2015 calendar year on Saturday (Jan. 3) at Patrick Gymnasium. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at UVMathletics.com or in person one hour before tipoff in the Patrick Gymnasium Lobby. The game can be heard on WVMT-620 AM (online: SportsJuice.com). The game will also be streamed online for free in HD via CatamounTV.com.
Saturday also marks the start of America East action. UVM enters the game with a 3-9 record and has won three of its last five games. Hartford enters the America East opener with a 6-8 record. The Hawks have won three of their last five games and snapped a two-game losing streak with a 59-55 win against Savannah State at a tournament at Fordham on December 30.
RELATED LINKS
Game Coverage - Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video
Game Notes (.pdf)
LAST TIME OUT - Cornell 90, Vermont 87 (2OT)
Sydney Smith scored a team-high 22 points and Kylie Butler added her second double-double in three games with 15 points and 10 rebounds, but Cornell erased a 14-point deficit and came back to post a 90-87 victory in double-overtime. With 4:27 left in regulation, Butler drained a 3-pointer to give Vermont a 67-53 lead. The Big Red used a full court press over the final four minutes to put together a 14-0 run to climb all the way back and force overtime. In the closing seconds of the first overtime, Nia Marshall banked in a 3-pointer to tie the game up at 80 and force a second overtime. Marshall added what proved to be the game-winning points with a basket with 28 seconds left in the second overtime.
ABOUT HARTFORD
Hartford enters the America East opener witha 6-8 record ... the Hawks have won three of their last five games and snapped a two-game losing streak with a 59-55 win against Savannah State at a tournament at Fordham on December 30 ... Amber Bepko is one of three Hawks averaging double figures ... She leads the team at 12.9 points per game, has a team-high 27 steals and is shooting 37.7 percent from 3-point range with a team-high 40 3-pointers ... Cherelle Moore is averaging a team-high 7.1 rebounds per game and chipping in 12.6 points per game ... Deanna Mayza has a team-high 72 assists and is averaging 10.8 points per game to round out the leading scorers ... As a team, Hartford is averaging 58.1 points per game while giving up 62.2 to opponents ... The Hawks are shooting 37.2 percent from the floor, 30.3 percent from 3-point range and 67.5 percent from the foul line ... Hartford is being out rebounded by a -6.4 margin (39.6 to 33.2) ... Head coach Jennifer Rizzotti is in her 16th season on the Hartford sidelines ... A three-time America East Coach of the Year, she has led the Hawks to nine semifinal appearances in 10 years and has won five America East titles.
THE SERIES
Saturday marks the 64th meeting between the two teams ... Vermont owns 35-28 advantage in series, but Hartford has won six straight over the Catamounts ... The Hawks swept the regular season series against UVM last season, winning 64-51 in Burlington and 57-49 in Hartford.
MILESTONE METER
Senior Niki Taylor is nearly averaging a double-double with 9.9 points and 8.5 rebounds per game for the Catamounts ... She became the 15th Catamount to reach the 600 rebound mark with nine at No. 21 Syracuse ... She ranks among the active leaders in America East in scoring (2nd - 948 career pts) and steals (5th - 103 career) ... Taylor ranks first among active leaders in rebounding in the league (650 career) and second in the league in rebounding (8.1 rpg) this season ... She is closing in the 1,000-career point milestone, entering the game 52 shy of the mark.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Vermont has had a player record a double-double (pts/reb) in five of the last six games.
CLOUTIER A KEY?
The Catamounts are 3-0 when Emilie Cloutier scores in double figures this season.
WHO'S NEXT
Vermont travels to Stony Brook on Wednesday (Jan. 7) for the first conference road game of the year ... The Catamounts will take on the Seawolves in their new arena, the Island Federal Credit Union Arena ... Tipoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. ... Kevin Fitzgerald will be calling the action on WVMT-620 AM (online: SportsJuice.com) and the game will be broadcast on ESPN3.com.
