FINAL SCORE: UMBC 64, Vermont 52
BURLINGTON, Vt. –
Kristina White finished with 12 points and came down with seven boards, but UMBC's Taylor McCarley countered with a double-double (14 points, 12 assists) as the Retrievers erased a 13-point deficit to take home a 64-52 decision over Vermont at Patrick Gymnasium on Sunday.
RELATED LINKS
CatamounTV Highlights
Box Score
Kylie Butler had a team-high eight rebounds for UVM in the setback.
Hot shooting was key for the Catamounts in building a lead of as many as 13 in the first quarter. After the teams traded 3-pointers in the first two minutes, Vermont strung together a 13-0 run on support from White (3), Butler (3) and
Hanna Crymble (7). By period's end, UVM had worked itself to an 18-9 advantage.
Candice Wright also registered a first quarter block, the 84th of her career, to lock up sole possession of eighth place in that category in program history.
In the second quarter UMBC fought back and narrowed the Catamounts' lead to just three heading into halftime. An 11-5 Retrievers run over the period's final six minutes resulted in a halftime score of 31-28 in favor of Vermont.
UVM shot 41.4 percent in the first half (12-for-29) and the Retrievers trailed closely at 39.3 percent on an 11-for-28 performance.
Unfortunately for the Catamounts, the strong effort in the first 20 minutes would not be sustained. The Retrievers outscored Vermont 23-11 in the third stanza and gained the lead for the balance of the afternoon following a pair of free throws by Te'yjah Oliver.
The final 10 minutes saw UMBC stretch its advantage to as much as 18. However,
Jessica Fuller drained a pair of 3-pointers in the quarter, marking her first outing with multiple downtown makes since UVM's earlier meeting with the Retrievers on January 14.
Wright concluded the afternoon with three swats and needs two more to enter a tie for seventh in program history in career blocks. Former Catamount Karena Zornow (1995-98) recorded 88 over the course of her 109 games played in Burlington.
Oliver led all scorers with 20 for the Retrievers, while Pandora Wilson contributed seven rebounds. Allison McGrath recorded the only UMBC assist not credited to McCarley.
With the setback, UVM drops to 7-18 on the season and 4-9 in America East play, while UMBC improves to 13-12 and 8-4 in the league.
The Green and Gold continue a three-game homestand on Wednesday (Feb. 15), hosting UMass Lowell at 7 p.m. in Burlington.