WOMEN'S BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK
The University of Vermont women's basketball team is set to face the Sacred Heart Pioneers on Sunday (Dec. 6) for one last matchup in Patrick Gym before the holidays. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.
 
Radio coverage begins 20 minutes prior to tip-off at 1:40 p.m. on WVMT 620-AM and SportsJuice.com with Jamie Scavotto calling the action. The game can also be viewed for free via AmericaEast.tv.
 
RELATED LINKS
Game Coverage - Video | Audio | Stats | Game Notes (.pdf)
 
TICKETS
Tickets can be purchased online at UVMathletics.com, in person at the Athletic Ticket Office located on the balcony in Patrick Gymnasium (Mon - Fri; 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.), over the phone during office hours at 802-656-4410, or one hour before game time in the lobby of Patrick Gymnasium.
 
Sunday's game will be recognized as Youth Day. All youth basketball players 12 and under will receive free admission by e-mailing whurd@uvm.edu to be placed on the complimentary ticket list.

Vermont will also be holding a festive sweater competition at halftime of Sunday's matchup. Don't forget to come to the game with your best holiday sweater for a chance to win a $100 gift card to the Superstore.

Following the game we will have Poster Day presented by the UPS Store Downtown. Stick around in Patrick Gym following the game to receive a 2015-16 schedule poster signed by the University of Vermont women's basketball team.
 
ABOUT VERMONT
Sophomore Sydney Smith recorded her second double-double (30 points, 11 rebounds) in six games against Quinnipiac on Saturday. Smith drained seven shots behind the arc, a personal and a current conference-best, and tallied 30 total points – the most of any Catamount since assistant coach Courtnay Pilypaitis posted 36 points during the 2009-10 season. She grabbed 11 rebounds for a career-high as well. Smith is averaging 14.1 points per game and 7.6 rebounds per game.
 
The Catamounts (1-6, 0-0) top the conference in 3-point field goal percentage, an average at 31.5-percent (47-149) and their defense holds opponents to just over 37-percent the field – the lowest percentage in the America East. UVM has been using the charity stripe to its advantage, connecting on 89 of its 120 attempts for a 74-percent clip.
 
Vermont also paces the conference in blocked shots (5.6 per game) behind freshman Candice Wright who averages 1.9 blocks per game. Graduate student Andreana Thomas is dishing out 4.1 assists per contest, good for second in the America East.


LAST TIME OUT
Three Catamounts posted double-figures in the scoring column on Wednesday night as the UVM women's basketball fell on the road to the Holy Cross Crusaders 77-63 at the Hart Center in Worcester, Massachusetts. Vermont dropped to 1-6 and the Crusaders improved to 2-5.

Smith was just shy of a third double-double of the season as she dropped five three-point buckets, totaled 18 points and posted nine rebounds. Thomas added 14 points and Hayley Robertson chipped in 15 points and four steals. Senior Gracia Hutson was strong on the boards as she grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds. Vermont went 14-for-16 (88-percent) from the foul line and shot 42-percent from the field.
 
Kylie Atwood connected with Kylie Butler, who tipped in a layup to give the Catamounts their largest lead of the game at 32-24 with 1:53 remaining in the half. Atwood dished another pass to Smith and she knocked down her third triple of the game to give Vermont a 37-31 advantage at the end of the first half.
 
Holy Cross came out strong in the second half and took the lead in the third quarter as it out-scored UVM 19-7. Vermont cut the Crusaders' advantage to eight two separate times in the fourth quarter but a pair of threes from Katie Doherty helped Holy Cross restore its double-figure cushion. The Crusaders sealed the win with a strong effort at the foul line, finishing the contest 15-for-19.

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Sacred Heart (1-5) is coming off a 67-54 loss to St. John's on the road on Thursday in Queens, New York. The Pioneers are averaging 61.5 points per game by shooting 40-percent from the field, which ranks second in the Northeast Conference. After finishing fourth in the league in 2014-15 with an 11-7 conference record, the Pioneers were picked fifth in the 2015 NEC Preseason Coaches Poll.
 
Hannah Kimmel paces Sacred Heart's offense, averaging just shy of averaging a double-double, with 17.2 ppg and grabbing 9.6 rpg. The redshirt junior is seventh in the nation with four double-doubles, just two behind the Division I leader.
 
Senior Alissa Tarsi leads the conference in field goal percentage, shooting 58.1-percent from the floor. She is averaging 13.4 ppg in 28.2 minutes of game action.
 
In five of their last six games, at least three starters have recorded double-digits in points for the Pioneers.

SERIES HISTORY
The Catamounts and Pioneers have met just twice in program history and the all-time series is even at 1-1. Vermont traveled to Fairfield, Connecticut last season to take on Sacred Heart for the first time since the 1984-85 season and fell to the Pioneers 76-66.
 
WHO'S NEXT
Vermont travels to Hanover, New Hampshire to face the Dartmouth Big Green in a twin-state matchup. Tip-off is set for 12 p.m. Radio coverage begins 20 minutes prior to tip-off at 11:40 a.m. on WVMT 620-AM and SportsJuice.com. The game can be viewed on a pay-per-view basis via the Ivy League Network.