FINAL SCORE: Florida International 80, Vermont 70
MIAMI – The Catamounts closed out the non-conference schedule with a 80-70 loss to the FIU Panthers at Ocean Bank Convocation Center in Miami on Saturday afternoon. It was UVM's final game in the 2017 calendar year.
 
Sydney Smith scored 16 points to become the 21st player in Vermont women's basketball history to reach the 1,000-point mark for a career. She also led the Catamounts in rebounds with seven on the afternoon.
 
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UVM was unable to contain FIU sophomore Alexis Gordon, who posted a career-high 40 points. Gordon posted a 9-for-12 performance from three-point range and was a perfect 11-11 from the free throw line to help move FIU's record to 3-10.
 
The Panthers snapped a six-game losing streak while the Catamounts failed to pick up a second straight victory.
 
Hanna Crymble led the way for the Catamounts on Saturday by scoring 23 points and recording six rebounds. The sophomore has reached double-figures in the scoring column in 11 of her 13 games this season.
 
Off the bench, Josie Larkins scored 11 points and went 3-5 from downtown. Candice Wright scored four points and added six rebounds. The program's all-time UVM shot blocker also denied two shots and now has 120 career blocks as she has reached the midway point of her junior campaign.
 
Aside from Gordon, two other players scored more than 10 points for FIU: Lauren Snipes (15) and Kristian Hudson (11).
 
The Catamounts finished their non-conference schedule with a 3-10 record heading into conference play. 
 
Despite the loss, Vermont won the rebounding battle (38-36). The Catamounts only committed eight turnovers as a team and forced the Panthers to cough the ball up on 16 occasions.
 
The Catamounts led by as many as four points in the second quarter, but it was all Panthers to close out the first half and for the remainder of the game. In the final minutes, UVM made it a one-possession game, but Gordon kept making shots to maintain the FIU lead.
   
As a team, Vermont shot 35% from the field, 22% from downtown (9-41) and 92% at the free throw line (11-12). Meanwhile, FIU went 47% from the floor, but the Panthers shot 65% from distance (13-20) and 85% at the foul line (23-27).
   
The Catamounts returns to action after the New Year, on Wednesday (Jan. 3), for their America East opener at home against UMass Lowell at 7 p.m.  
 
The video broadcast for the UMass Lowell can be found on ESPN3, with Alastair Ingram and Bernie Cieplicki providing the commentary.
  
Logan Ratick has the play-by-play call for Wednesday's showdown with UMass Lowell on CatamounTV.com, as well as the flagship station for UVM women's basketball, News/Talk 620 WVMT-AM. Pregame coverage begins at 6:40 p.m., with tip-off set for 7 p.m. from Tom Brennan Court at Patrick Gym.