FINAL SCORE: Vermont 56, Dartmouth 54
HANOVER, N.H. – The University of Vermont women's basketball team collected its second straight win on Wednesday afternoon at Leede Arena as it downed Dartmouth 56-54. Courtney Wright's bucket with nine seconds left in the fourth quarter gave the Catamounts' their first road win as they improve to 3-6, while Dartmouth falls to 1-8 on the season.
 
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CatamounTV Highlights (courtesy WCAX Channel 3)
 
"Any time you can win on the road, it's a sign of growth and an important step," said head coach Lori Gear McBride. "I'm really pleased with our defense in the last two games and look forward to taking advantage of the break to get back in the gym and work with our team on continuing to get better."
 
Junior Kylie Butler registered double-figures scoring for the first time this season with 12 points and six rebounds off the bench. Andreana Thomas led UVM with a season-high 16 points and posted a team-best eight rebounds. A total of 10 Catamounts scored points as the team shot 37-percent from the field overall in Vermont's third win.
 
Fanni Szabo posted a game-high 19 points for the Big Green and Kate Letkewicz added 12 points and nine rebounds. Emily Dryden collected a game-best 10 rebounds.  
 
Kylie Atwood put the Catamounts on the board with a quick jumper, and moments later Butler connected on connected on her first of three 3-pointers to give Vermont an 8-6 lead with 4:03 to play in the first quarter. Lakin Roland knocked down a bucket with 1:43 left and gave Dartmouth a 13-11 advantage after one quarter.
 
Szabo gave handed the Big Green a five-point edge (22-17) midway through the second quarter, but Kristina White answered back with her first points of the season. Candice Wright tipped in a layup to cut into the Dartmouth lead, but it closed out the first half up 29-21. The Big Green held Vermont to 8-for-31 (25.8-percent) shooting from the field while Dartmouth was 0-for-6 from 3-point range in the first half.
 
The Big Green posted its largest lead of the game (44-32) off a triple by Szabo at the 3:41 mark of the third quarter. Butler drained her second bucket from behind the arc to cut the lead to nine, and Thomas connected on a fast break layup moments later. A buzzer-beating shot by Thomas along the baseline brought the Catamounts within four heading into the final quarter down 44-40.  
 
Courtney Wright tied the game for the first time since the second quarter at 47 apiece with 6:40 remaining. Thomas evened the score again on a floater with less than a minute left as the teams were knotted at 54. Butler then drove the right baseline and found Wright open at the left elbow as she floated a lefty layup over the front rim for the game-winning basket.
 
With the clock ticking down, Roland missed a corner three to win the game, and Amber Mixon's leaner from the foul line was too late as time expired and Vermont held on for the victory.
 
UVM takes a week off before continuing its four-game road trip at NJIT on Sunday, Dec. 20 at 2 p.m. then travels to Delaware to take on the Blue Hens on Dec. 22 at 6 p.m. Radio coverage at NJIT begins 20 minutes prior to tip-off at 1:40 p.m. on WVMT 620-AM and SportsJuice.com. The game can also be viewed by clicking here.