| Follow @UVMwbb
BALTIMORE - The Vermont women's basketball team travels to UMBC Saturday looking for its third straight America East victory. Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the RAC. Kevin Fitzgerald will have the call on WVMT-620 AM (online: SportsJuice.com) and the game will be streamed online for free via AmericaEast.tv.
The Catamounts are coming off back-to-back wins over Binghamton (72-66) and at UNH (63-60). Vermont stands at 5-19 overall and 2-10 in America East. UMBC owns a record of 8-16 overall and is 3-8 in America East after a 74-41 loss at Stony Brook on Wednesday.
RELATED LINKS
Game Coverage - Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video
Game Notes (.pdf)
LAST TIME OUT - Vermont 63, New Hampshire 60
Vermont held off New Hampshire to post its second straight win, 63-60, in Durham on Wednesday ... Kayla Burchill and Katie Lavelle led Vermont with 13 points each ... Burchill reached double figrues for the third straight game and hit three 3-pointers in the contest ... Lavelle set a new career-high for the second straight game and was 6-for-9 from the field ... Kylie Atwood added 11 points and Niki Taylor and Kylie Butler combined for 14 points and 11 rebounds ... UVM led 52-48 with 6:30 left in the game ... UNH answered with a 7-1 run to push ahead 57-55 with 2:10 showing on the clock ... Sydney Smith responded with a 3-pointer to shove UVM back in front 58-57 with 1:53 remaining ... The Catamounts would not relinquish the lead the rest of the way ... A pair of free throws by Atwood gave UVM a 63-57 lead with 21 seconds left ... UNH converted a three-point play with 15 seconds showing on the clock, but the last second 3-pointer by the Wildcats was off the mark.
ABOUT UMBC
UMBC is 8-16 overall, 3-8 in America East ... The Retrievers are 2-2 in their last four games and coming off a 74-41 setback at Stony Brook ... Capree Garner, a transfer from Hartford Community College, leads the team in scoring (18 ppg) and rebounding 5.3 ... Amanda Hagman is chipping in 6.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game ... Taylor McCarley is the other Retriever averaging double figures (10.5 ppg) ... She is dishing out a team-high 4.4 assists per game ... Liz McNaoughton is the team's top 3-point threat, making 37 this season ... As a team, UMBC is averaging 62.4 points per game, while giving up 67.9 points to opponents ... The Retrievers are shooting 38.5 percent from the floor, 28.8 percent from 3-point range and 66.0 percent from the foul line ... UMBC is being out rebounded 43 to 34.6 on the year.
THE SERIES
Saturday is the 27th meeting between the two teams ... Vermont is 14-12 all-time against UMBC ... The Retrievers have won seven of the last nine contests ... The two teams split last season, each winning on their home floor.
LAST TIME OUT - UMBC 68, Vermont 61
Sydney Smith and Niki Taylor scored 14 points each for Vermont, but UMBC used a strong second half to post a 68-61 win at Patrick Gymnasium on Saturday ... Taylor scored 12 of her 14 points in the second half and added eight rebounds ... Smith grabbed seven rebounds and Kylie Butler chipped in 10 points and five boards ... UMBC trailed 30-22 with 3:17 left in the first half, but closed the stanza with a 10-2 spurt to tie the game up at 32 at the break ... UVM, which shot 43.3 percent from the field in the first half, was limited to 26.1 percent in the second half ... Vermont led 43-38 with 12:23 left in the game, but UMBC used a 12-1 run to push out in front by six ... A pair of free throws by Emilie Cloutier tied the game up at 50 with just over five minutes left, but the Retrievers used another scoring spurt, 10-3, to extend their lead to seven with 2:01 showing on the clock ... UVM was held to one field goal over the final two minutes as UMBC held off the Catamounts for the win.
BURCHILL BUSTS OUT
Senior Kayla Burchill has reached double figures in the last three games and is averaging 15.3 points per game in the last three outings ... She scored a season-high 18 points, grabbed five rebounds and handed out four assists in a loss to Stony Brook ... She added 15 points and four rebounds in UVM's win over Binghamton and chipped in a team-high 13 points in her first start of the year at UNH ... She is shooting 44 percent from 3-point range in the last three games (11-for-25).
LAVELLE LEADING
Freshman Katie Lavelle has reached set new career-highs in back-to-back wins over Binghamton (10) and New Hampshire (13) ... She has started the last 10 games and is averaging 11.5 points per game in the last two outings.
WHO'S NEXT
Vermont hosts Maine on February 18 at 7 p.m. ... Tickets can be purchased online at UVMathletics.com, in person at the UVM Athletic Ticket Office (M-F: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.) located in Patrick Gymnasium, via the phone at 802-656-4410 or in person one hour before tipoff in the Patrick Gymnasium Lobby ... Kevin Fitzgerald will have the call on WVMT-620 AM (online: SportsJuice.com) and the game will be streamed online for free in HD via CatamounTV.com ... The game is also part of UVM's Rally Agasint Cancer initiative ... The Catamounts will be wearing special uniforms with pink accents and fans are encouraged to wear pink to the game.
