WOMEN'S BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK
After tipping off the season last weekend in Burlington, the Vermont women's basketball team hits the road for the first time in the Chris Day era, traveling to Central Connecticut (Nov. 18) and Yale (Nov. 20). Friday night's tilt with the Blue Devils is slated for 7 p.m., while things on Sunday will get underway at 2 p.m.
 
Free live video of Friday's game will be streamed through NEC Front Row and Sunday's game will be streamed through the subscription-based Ivy League Digital Network. Tyler Terens will handle play-by-play duties for both games on WVMT 620-AM as well as online via Catamounts All-Access. Friday night's game will be streamed through only through Catamounts All-Access due to Vermont men's hockey airing on WVMT. Live stats will also be available for both matchups.
 
RELATED LINKS
Central Connecticut: Live Video | Live Stats | Tickets | CCSU Game Notes
Yale: Live Video | Live Stats | Tickets | Yale Game Notes
Vermont Game Notes
Live Audio
 
NEW AUDIO STREAMING | Listen Live
This season, Catamount women's basketball fans can access a brand new free home for live audio streaming through Catamounts All-Access. The WVMT 620-AM audio feed of every home and road game will air live at the link above with pre-game coverage beginning 20 minutes prior to tipoff. Tyler Terens begins his first year as the radio play-by-play voice of the women's basketball team and will chat live with a member of the Vermont coaching staff after every game courtside. The new audio streams are accessible on all desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile devices.
 
CATAMOUNTS RECAP
Four Catamounts reached double figures and Chris Day recorded his first win as a Division I head coach as the Vermont women's basketball team topped Dartmouth 59-54 on Sunday at Patrick Gymnasium.
 
Vermont set the tone early in the contest, making its first four shots and pocketing seven of the game's first nine points. Sydney Smith and Candice Wright made layups in the first 90 seconds, then Kallie Banker buried a 3-pointer at the 8:00 mark, picking up where she left off on Friday night. The Catamounts closed the quarter shooting 7-for-11 (63.6 percent) from the field.
 
SCOUTING CENTRAL CONNECTICUT
Released on Oct. 26, Central Connecticut was projected to finish seventh in the Northeast Conference preseason coaches' poll. The Blue Devils sit at 0-2 after a Nov. 11 setback at Dartmouth (61-51) and Nov. 16 defeat vs. Hartford (68-58).
 
Senior Aleah Epps led her teammates in both games to begin the year, tallying a double-double against Dartmouth (19 pts, 15 reb) and turning in 18 points against Hartford. Also highlighting the squad is Andi Lydon, who reached double figures in rebounds in each contest (12 at Dartmouth, 15 vs. Hartford).
 
A 1987 graduate of CCSU, Beryl Piper is in her 10th season at the helm of the Blue Devils and is the winningest women's basketball coach in the school's Division I tenure.
 
SCOUTING YALE
With 56 points, Yale was picked sixth in the Ivy League preseason poll. The Bulldogs sit at 1-1 on the season, most recently falling to Manhattan by a 63-57 score this past Tuesday. Last Sunday, the squad opened the season at home with a 57-48 victory over America East rival Binghamton.
 
Senior Lena Munzer and junior Tamara Simpson lead the team averaging double figures in scoring at this early juncture of the season. Fans can also look for junior Jen Berkowitz and freshman Megan Gorman on the glass, averaging seven and six board per game, respectively.
 
Head coach Allison Guth is in the second season of her second stint in New Haven, having served as an assistant at Yale from 2010-12. She also spent time at Northwestern and Missouri in the same capacities while holding the role of director of basketball operations at DePaul from 2008-10.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
Friday's tilt is the 21st all-time meeting between UVM and Central Connecticut in a series currently at a 10-10 deadlock. UVM topped CCSU on Nov. 13, 2015 and won five straight games from 1991-2003. The Catamounts and Blue Devils also met every season from 1984-85 through 1989-90. In the most recent meeting, Smith recorded her first career double-double with 20 points and 10 boards as the Catamounts defeated CCSU by a 79-63 score.
 
Vermont last squared off with Yale on Nov. 25, 2003, pocketing a 78-65 win on the road. UVM built up a 28-point lead midway through the second half and used a 4-for-7 performance behind the line from junior Lani Boardman in the win. That result evened the series at two-apiece after the Bulldogs dealt UVM setbacks in 1986 and 1995.
 
CHRIS DAY FEATURED ON 101.3 ESPN RADIO
Head coach Chris Day took a few minutes this week to catch up with Brady Farkas of 101.3 ESPN Radio in Burlington. During the chat, Day discussed his background as a coach, his plan for the Catamounts and his time thus far in Burlington.
 
Click here to listen to Day's comments.
 
A WEEKEND OF FIRSTS
Last weekend's pair at Patrick Gym saw numerous firsts for multiple Catamounts. Freshmen Hanna Crymble and Nyamuoch Teny each made their collegiate debut while graduate transfer Kallie Banker played in her first game as a Catamount. Banker and Crymble also registered their first points.
 
IT'S GOOD! FROM DOWNTOWN!
Junior Sydney Smith and redshirt junior Kristina White made a splash to open the season, combining to average 22.5 points per game and draining 10 3-pointers. The duo, serving as captains with junior Katie Lavelle, also dished out eight assists over the weekend.
 
White hit seven shots from behind the arc including four in last Friday's season opener against Bryant. In reaching that mark, the Woodbury, Minnesota product surpassed her total in that category from the previous two seasons.
 
NEW FACES MAKE IMPACT
Crymble and Banker were two integral components of the Catamounts' performances last weekend at both ends of the floor.
 
Crymble reached double figures in her collegiate debut against Bryant and also grabbed five rebounds over her 30 minutes of action. A Rhode Island transfer, Banker made her first start at UVM on Sunday and was one of three players to score 11 points in the Catamounts' win over Dartmouth.
 
CATAMOUNTS ADD FIVE TO ROSTER
The Catamounts welcome aboard five newcomers for the coming season in a group marked by three freshmen and two transfers. Freshmen Hanna Crymble (6-3, F, Champlin, Minnesota), Jessica Fuller (5-6, G, Grand Rapids, Michigan) and Nyamuoch Teny (5-10, G, Kitchener, Ontario) have joined the team, in addition to junior transfer Cassidy Derda (6-2, F, South Burlington, Vermont) from St. Francis Brooklyn and redshirt senior Kallie Banker (5-10, G, Grand Island, New York) from Rhode Island.
 
VERMONT SELECTS TEAM CAPTAINS
Juniors Katie Lavelle and Sydney Smith along with redshirt junior Kristina White will serve as captains for the Catamounts for the 2016-17 season.
 
WELCOME TO VERMONT, COACH
A 1997 graduate of West Chester University, head coach Chris Day arrives in Vermont following a three-year stint as an assistant at the University of Pennsylvania. During his time at Penn, the Quakers punched two tickets to the NCAA Tournament and captured two Ivy League titles. The squad amassed 67 wins during his tenure, including a remarkable 36-6 mark in conference action.
 
The eighth head coach in program history, Day also spent time in coaching capacities at Indiana (2012-13), Saint Joseph's (2005-12) and La Salle (2004-05). He served a three-year stint (2000-03) as head coach at Division III Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania, helping Widener make its first postseason appearance in 20 years.
 
DAY ANNOUNCES COACHING STAFF
Alisa Kresge, Brian Donoghue and Caroline Coyer have joined Day's staff for the 2016-17 campaign. Kresge, who will serve as associate head coach, comes to UVM from Marist College after spending six seasons at her alma mater as an assistant. As a player with the Red Foxes, she finished as the program's all-time leader in assists (596) and ranked second in steals (222).
 
Donoghue was previously the head coach at King's College in Pennsylvania, leading the Lady Monarchs to seven Freedom Conference Tournament appearances. In 2011-12, King's finished one win short of tying a program record (25) en route to the NCAA Sweet 16.
 
Coyer joins the Catamounts after a four-year playing career at Villanova. In addition to reaching the NCAA Tournament in 2013, she helped the Wildcats to three straight WNIT appearances (2014-16). In May of 2015, she was named to the USA Basketball Women's Pan American Games roster, with the team capturing the silver medal after posting a 4-1 record.
 
NEXT UP
The Catamounts return to Patrick Gymnasium on Friday, Nov. 25 to open the TD Bank Classic. UVM hosts NJIT in the opening round of the tournament at 7 p.m. that evening. For more on the TD Bank Classic, click here.