WOMEN'S BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK
A busy sequence of four games in nine days concludes for Vermont on Thursday (Jan. 19) when the Catamounts make the trip to UMass Lowell, the newest member of the America East Conference. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Costello Athletic Center.
 
ESPN3 as well as the WatchESPN app will stream Thursday's tilt live with play-by-play and color duties handled by Scott Sudikoff and Helen Williams, respectively. Fans in the car can listen to Tyler Terens live on WVMT 620-AM, while Terens can also be heard on Catamounts All-Access. Live stats will be available free of charge through SIDEARM Stats.
 
RELATED LINKS
Video | Audio | Live Stats
Vermont Notes (.pdf)
 
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CATAMOUNTS RECAP
Sydney Smith had 15 points in the second half and Hanna Crymble added 15 on the afternoon, but a valiant rally in the final 10 minutes came up just short as Vermont fell to New Hampshire 57-49 at Patrick Gymnasium on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Katie Lavelle grabbed four steals and the Catamounts held Brittni Lai, New Hampshire's leading scorer entering the matchup, without a point for the entirety of her 38 minutes.
 
The Catamounts continued chipping away at an 11-point deficit early in the fourth quarter when Lauren Handy hit a reverse layup at the 9:29 mark. Shortly thereafter it was Handy again who proceeded to draw a foul with 5:50 left, setting up Smith's bucket at the 5:25 mark to move the score to 48-44 in favor of UNH. Although the former brought UVM back within three with less than three minutes to play, the Wildcats sealed the victory with five unanswered points.
 
SCOUTING UMASS LOWELL
The River Hawks (3-15, 0-5 AE) sit ninth in America East, most recently in action on Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 16) when the squad was dealt an 83-53 setback at Stony Brook. Amanda Ortiz netted a career-high with 16 points but UMass Lowell was unable to handle the Seawolves' five double-figure scorers. Overall, the team is averaging 56.3 points per game, but gives up just over 72 from night-to-night.
 
UMass Lowell boasts one of the top 3-point defenses in America East as its opponents are shooting 29.4 percent from downtown. That mark is just a hair ahead of the Catamounts (30.1 percent) and short of league-leading Stony Brook (28.7 percent). Junior Kayla Gibbs chairs the offense with 12.8 points per game while also adding a team-high 7.7 rebounds.
 
Head coach Jenerrie Harris is in her third season guiding the River Hawks following a stint at Navy. Her 14 wins in 2014-15 rank as the most by a first-year head coach amongst any of the program's seven all-time head coaches. She also served Wright State (2006-09) and Longwood (2005-06) in assistant coaching capacities and is a 2004 graduate of Kentucky.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
Vermont has met the River Hawks just six times, with each contest coming since the 2013-14 season when UMass Lowell elevated to the NCAA Division I ranks and joined the America East Conference. Behind a double-double performance (18 pts, 12 reb) from then-freshman Kylie Butler, UVM pocketed a 95-82 win in the inaugural iteration of the series on Dec. 1, 2013. The Green and Gold also notched a 59-51 decision last season in Lowell, helped in part by Kylie Atwood's 12 points and Sydney Smith's six boards.
 
UVM nearly realized a sweep of the River Hawks last season, but Hayley Robertson's double-double (20 pts, 10 reb) on Feb. 8, 2016 was answered with a late bucket by Asia Mitchell-Owens to give UMass Lowell a 68-66 victory at Patrick Gymnasium.

CATS CLIMBING THE RECORD BOOK
As a junior, Smith has etched her name in the record book by virtue of sinking 147 career 3-point field goals. She entered the season 10th all-time with a total of 122 between her freshman and sophomore campaigns in Burlington and now sits fifth in the category. In her 13 games this season, she has eclipsed Kayla Burchill (2011-15), Christie Lauzon (1995-2000), Morgan Hall (1999-03), Dawn Cressman (1999-03) and Ashleigh Cuncic (2002-07) en route to her current standing.
 
In addition, sophomore Candice Wright continues to make a push in the blocks column, registering 71 in less than two seasons and sitting in a tie with Allison Mahan (1986-90) for 14th all-time in that category. As a freshman last year, Wright logged 48 blocks, setting a single-season program record.
 
CRYMBLE MAKING A SPLASH
Freshman Hanna Crymble has made an offensive splash with the Catamounts in her brief time in Burlington. Averaging 9.9 points to go along with her 6.1 rebounds, the Champlin, Minnesota product has reached double-figure scoring in 11 games.
 
Crymble has started all 17 games and is the first Catamount rookie to reach double figures 11 times in that span since Smith did so on 12 occasions in 2014-15.
 
MAINE LEFTOVERS
In addition to picking up its first victory in a conference opener since 2013-14, Vermont snapped a seven-game losing streak against Maine as a result of its Jan. 4 decision at Patrick Gymnasium.
 
The Black Bears' three second quarter points represent a tie for the fewest points allowed by the Catamounts in a single 10-minute period. In a Feb. 28, 2016 win over Stony Brook, UVM surrendered just three points in the fourth quarter in preserving a 44-37 victory over the Seawolves at Patrick Gymnasium.
 
Prior to Maine, UVM's last conference-opening win came on Dec. 1, 2013 in a 95-82 outcome against UMass Lowell in part behind 18 points from Kylie Butler. UVM previously defeated Maine on Jan. 23, 2013, helped by Annie Wheeler's 14 points off the bench in a 61-53 topping.
 
WELCOME TO VERMONT, COACH
A 1997 graduate of West Chester University in Pennsylvania, 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 UVM 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.
 
NEXT UP
The Catamounts will enjoy a full week to prepare for their next contest, a Thursday, Jan. 26 meeting at Albany. That game is scheduled for a noon start.

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