WOMEN'S BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK
With Thanksgiving upon us, the Vermont women's basketball team is making final preparations to welcome Villanova, American and James Madison to the Green Mountain State for the annual TD Bank Classic. All four games of the tournament will be played at Patrick Gymnasium.
 
Action begins on Friday (Nov. 24) with a pair of contests as UVM takes on American at 5 p.m. Villanova then plays a 7 p.m. tilt against James Madison. Saturday's slate features the consolation game at 5 p.m. and championship game at 7 p.m. All four games throughout the weekend will be streamed live on ESPN3, with Tyler Terens and Bernie Cieplicki on the call.
 
RELATED LINKS
American vs. Vermont: Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats | Vermont Notes | American Notes
James Madison vs. Villanova: Live Video | Live Stats 
Consolation Game: Live Video
Championship Game: Live Video
Tickets
 
TOYS FOR TOTS
UVM Athletics will have Toys For Tots boxes at all home games until Dec. 15 to collect new and unwrapped toys to be donated for local families in need this holiday season. The Toys For Tots drive is presented by TD Bank. Fans can make donations at the marketing table. Last year, the local Toys For Tots program served over 1,700 families, providing toys to over 5,000 children in the greater Champlain Valley area. 
 
TICKETS
Fans can purchase tickets for each day of the TD Bank Classic by visiting UVM Ticket Central. Additionally, tickets can be acquired by calling the UVM Athletic Ticket Office at (802) 656-4410 or by visiting the office, located on the balcony of the Patrick Gymnasium Lobby. On game days, tickets can be purchased beginning one hour before tip-off in the Patrick Gymnasium Lobby.
 
CATAMOUNTS RECAP
Vermont was most recently in action on Sunday, wrapping up the weekend on campus with a matinee against Columbia. The Catamounts had difficulty containing the Lions' all-time leading scorer in program history, as Camille Zimmerman scored 28 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in a Columbia win.
 
UVM won two games at home last week with a 75-31 victory over Norwich on Wednesday, Nov. 15 and a 88-65 win over Howard on Friday, Nov. 17. Hanna Crymble led the way for the Catamounts in the Howard game. The sophomore scored a career-high 37 points and tied a career-high by pulling down 13 rebounds for the seventh double-double of her young collegiate career. Crymble also scored 18 points on Sunday against Columbia and was named the America East Women's Basketball Player of the Week.
 
Vermont is 2-3 through its first five regular season games and owns a 2-1 record at Patrick Gym. The Catamounts play five consecutive home games (with the final two in the TD Bank Classic) to end the month of November. 
 
SCOUTING THE FIELD
American: The Eagles (2-2) are coming off of back-to-back road losses: a 72-56 defeat at Delaware on Thursday, Nov. 16 and a 71-53 loss at George Mason on Monday, Nov. 20. American as a team is shooting 39% from the field, 27% from downtown and 78% at the free throw line. The Eagles have struggled a bit on the glass, as they only average 34 rebounds per game. AU is 1-2 away from its home in Washington, D.C. this season. Emily Kinneston and Michael Harris are the only two Eagles to average double-figures in scoring with 13.5 and 11.3 points per game respectively.
 
James Madison: The Dukes are fourth all-time in wins in NCAA Division I Women's Basketball history and have made the NCAA tournament 12 times. However, James Madison is off to a slow 1-3 start this year, with the lone victory coming at home against Wagner by a 68-45 score on Sunday, Nov. 12. The Dukes played at No. 13 Tennessee (lone meeting with a ranked opponent) on Wednesday Nov. 15 and lost 89-60. Sophomore guard Kamiah Smalls leads all Dukes with 14.5 points per game while Lexie Berrier (12.3 PPG) and Kelly Koshuta (11.0 PPG) also average double-figures scoring wise. JMU is shooting 38% from the field and just 22% from three-point range through the first four games.
 
Villanova: The Wildcats look to be a factor in the Big East this season, as they have started 2017-18 with a 3-0 record in nonconference play. Villanova's first win of the season came against an America East opponent, with a 71-53 victory in Hartford on Friday, Nov. 10. The Wildcats most recent game was an upset, as they beat No. 11 Duke 65-55 at home. Villanova as a team is averaging 38% shooting from the floor, 30% accuracy from behind the arc and a sharp 82% free throw percentage. Kelly Jekot (14.0 PPG) and Adrianna Han (13.3 PPG) are the leading scorers on offense, while Mary Gedaka leads all Wildcats with 7.0 rebounds per game.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
Vermont lost its lone meeting with American 80-69 all the way back on Dec. 30, 1983. The game was played at a neutral site in Jersey City, New Jersey. The matchup came in non-conference play of the Catamounts' fifth season in program history.
 
UVM also trails the all-time series with JMU. The Dukes have won two of the three meetings, most recently at Patrick Gym by a 70-67 score on Jan. 8, 1995. The other two meetings between these two teams came away from Burlington: a 106-83 James Madison win in New Haven, Connecticut (Dec. 12, 1981) and a 84-62 Vermont victory in Harrisonburg, Virginia (Dec. 21, 1992) on the campus of JMU.
 
The Catamounts have never played the Villanova Wildcats since the UVM women's basketball program was established for the 1979-80 season.
 
HISTORY BEFORE OUR EYES
Candice Wright's two blocked shots against Columbia on Sunday tied her for first-all time in career blocks by a Catamount with Katie McNamara '05. The junior forward has notched 102 blocks so far in her career. The next blocked shot will propel Wright to the top of the record book, with more than a full season of eligibility left to add to that total. 
  
IT'S GOOD! FROM DOWNTOWN!
As a team, Vermont is shooting 28% from downtown and averaging 7.6 made three-pointers per game. Out of UVM's 307 field goal attempts through the first five games of the regular season, just over 44% have come from behind the three-point arc. Individually, the most proficient three-point shooting Catamounts have been redshirt-senior guard Kristina White (38%) and redshirt-junior forward/center Cassidy Derda (37%).
  
WELCOME BACK TO VERMONT, COACH
A 1997 graduate of West Chester University, head coach Chris Day is back in Vermont for his second season as head coach. Day was hired at UVM 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 retains Alisa Kresge (Marist, '07) as his associate head coach, while adding newcomers Stefanie Murphy (Boston College, '11) and Dominique Bryant (Saint Joseph's, '11) to the staff.
  
NEXT UP
Following the TD Bank Classic, the Catamounts have a few days off before returning to action on Friday, Dec. 1 at Rider. Tip-off from Lawrenceville, New Jersey is set for 7 p.m. The broadcast with Logan Ratick begins at 6:40 p.m. on WVMT 620-AM and catamounTV.com.