WOMEN'S BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK
The Vermont women's basketball team opens up the 2017-18 regular season on the road this weekend, with games at Dartmouth and Miami.

The Catamounts play the regular season opener on Friday night (Nov. 10), with the program's 34th all-time meeting against the Dartmouth Big Green. Tip-off from Leede Arena in Hanover, New Hampshire is set for 7:30 p.m. Then, Vermont travels to Florida to face Miami in a Sunday afternoon game (Nov. 12) at 2 p.m. It will be the Catamounts first-ever contest against the Hurricanes.
 
The women's basketball broadcast on Friday night can be streamed on CatamounTV.com but will not be on WVMT 620-AM due to the men's hockey game. On Sunday, the game between Vermont and Miami can be heard on WVMT 620-AM and online at CatamounTV.com. Both games feature Logan Ratick, the Voice of UVM women's basketball, on play-by-play.

RELATED LINKS
Dartmouth: Video ($) | Audio | Live Stats | Game Notes (.pdf)
Miami: Video ($) | Audio | Live Stats
 
CATAMOUNTS ADD FOUR FRESHMEN TO ROSTER
The Catamounts welcome aboard four newcomers for the coming season. Freshmen Dani Lozzi (5-10, G, Horsham, England), Josie Larkins (5-9, G, Lincroft, New Jersey), Kianna Funderburk (5-9, G, Charlotte, North Carolina) and Carmen Handy (6-3, F, Sarnia, Ontario, Canada) have joined the team. In addition, junior Cassidy Derda (6-2, F, South Burlington, Vermont) will play this season. Derda sat out 2016-17 after transferring from St. Francis Brooklyn.
 
WELCOME BACK, COACH
Head Coach Chris Day returns to Vermont for a second-season at the helm of the women's basketball team. The eighth coach in program history led the team to a 9-20 record in 2016-17 with a team that sustained a plethora of injuries.
 
Prior to Vermont, Day was an assistant coach at the University of Pennsylvania (2013-16), Indiana University (2012-13), Saint Joseph's University (2005-12) and La Salle University (2004-05). Before those stints as an assistant coach, Day was the head coach at Division III Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania, where he led Widener to its first postseason appearance in 20 years. Day is a 1997 graduated of West Chester University in Pennsylvania.
 
DAY ANNOUNCES NEW COACHING STAFF
Alisa Kresge returns for her second season as associate head coach. She comes to UVM from Marist College after spending six seasons at her alma mater as an assistant coach. 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).
 
Along with retaining Kresge, the Catamounts welcome two new assistant coaches for the 2017-18 season: Dominique Bryant and Stefanie Murphy.
 
Domique Bryant joined the women's basketball staff in May of 2017. She was an assistant coach at Manhattan College for the 2016-17 season. Bryant's arrival represents a reunion of sorts, as she previously was an assistant at Marist College for three seasons (2013-16) with current UVM associate head coach, Alisa Kresge. She was also recruited by head coach Chris Day at Saint Joseph's and played under him from 2007-11. Bryant was a two-time co-captain with the Hawks.
 
Stefanie Murphy joined the women's basketball coaching staff in July of 2017. She was a standout forward at Boston College from 2007-11 and ranks as the fourth leading scorer in program history. Murphy sits second in rebounds and games played, third in field goals, and fifth in blocks at BC. A former ACC Rookie of the Year and two-time All-ACC Honorable Mention, Murphy recorded 29 double-doubles and scored double figures 87 times in her college career. A native of Londonderry, New Hampshire, she played four years professionally overseas before moving back to the United States, where she served two years as a graduate assistant and received her master's degree.
 
SCOUTING DARTMOUTH
The Big Green was picked eighth out of eight teams in the 2017-18 Ivy League women's basketball preseason poll. Dartmouth received 24 points while the team picked seventh, Columbia, totaled 42 points. The Big Green is coming off an 8-19 season with an overall home record of 5-7 (2-5 in Ivy League at Leede Arena).
 
The lead scorer from last season was Kate Letkewicz (11.2 points per game), who returns for her senior season. In 2016-17, Letkewicz shot 45% from the field, 41% from beyond the arc and 84% from the free throw line. She also led the team with 6.7 rebounds per game as a guard.
 
Senior center Olivia Smith is the key low post player for the Big Green. Last season, she started all 27 games and scored a career-high 18 points vs. Penn on March 3. The Yarmouth, Maine native averaged 8.4 points per game and scored 10+ points in 13 of 27 games in 2016-17. Her career high in rebounds came last year at Rhode Island (15 on Dec. 18, 2016).
 
Another difference-maker for Dartmouth is 6-3 forward, Isalys Quiñones. The Chula Vista, Calif., native started 21 of 27 games as a sophomore in 2016-17 and was second on the team with 22 blocks. Quiñones averaged 9.1 points per game (third on the team) and scored a career-high 23 points in Dartmouth's quadruple overtime  win against Columbia on Jan. 27. She shot 41.8% from the field last year and made more than three-quarters of her free-throw attempts.
 
SCOUTING MIAMI (FL)
Miami went 24-9 overall last season (.727 winning percentage) and finished ACC play with a 10-5 record. The Hurricanes went 14-3 at the Watsco Center while posting a 7-5 record on the road and a 3-1 record at neutral sites.
 
The Hurricanes lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament 85-78 to Quinnipiac in Coral Gables. Miami was ranked No. 16 in the AP Top 25 postseason poll.
 
The three-leading scorers in 2016-17 (all averaged double-figures in points) were all seniors: Adrienne Motley, Jessica Thomas and Keyona Hayes. Leading returning scorer is junior guard Laura Cornelius, who posted an average of 8.0 points per game. Senior Eryka Davenport is the leading returning rebounder. The 6-2 post player averaged 6.8 points per game and 4.9 rebounds per game in 2016-17.

Last year, the Hurricanes averaged 72.1 points per game while limiting their opponents to 63.2 points per game. As a team, they shot 44% from the field, 34% from distance and 67.5% at the free throw line. Miami committed 15.9 turnovers per game but maintained a +1.8 turnover margin.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Vermont is 18-15 all-time against Dartmouth dating back to their first matchup in 1981, in which the Catamounts lost 62-56 in Hanover, New Hampshire. UVM has won the last three meetings (2014-16) after losing the previous three. The Catamounts won six straight matchups with the Big Green between 2000-09.
 
Last year, UVM won 59-54 at home. Kristina White, Candice Wright and Sydney Smith all scored in double-figures. The Catamounts last victory at Leede Arena came on Dec. 9, 2015. UVM won 56-54. Current players Candice Wright, Sydney Smith, Hayley Robertson, Courtney Wright, Katie Lavelle and Kristina White combined for 25 of those 56 points as underclassmen.
 
The last time that the Catamounts faced off against an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent came on Dec. 1, 2014, when Vermont lost to No. 22 Syracuse at the Carrier Dome. UVM and Miami have never matched up in the history of their respective women's basketball programs.
 
NEXT UP
The Catamounts open the regular season home schedule on Wednesday, Nov. 15 against Norwich at 7 p.m. Vermont then hosts Howard on Friday, Nov. 17 at 4 p.m., followed by Columbia on Sunday, Nov. 19 at 2 p.m. All three games will be played at Patrick Gymnasium on the University of Vermont campus. The Catamounts play three of five consecutive home games between Nov. 15-19, followed by two more Nov. 24-25.