WOMEN'S BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK
The Vermont women's basketball team has hit the home stretch of the regular season schedule and travels to twin state rival New Hampshire this week for a Thursday night (Feb. 9) matchup with the Wildcats. That game is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Lundholm Gymnasium and is followed by a Saturday (Feb. 11) tilt at Patrick Gymnasium against UMBC. The latter matchup is slated for 1 p.m. after being moved up from 2 p.m.
 
Fans can watch both games live and in high definition on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app, while Tyler Terens will also have the call on WVMT 620-AM as well as Catamounts All-Access. Live stats will be accessible through SIDEARM Stats.
 
RELATED LINKS
New Hampshire: Video | Audio | Live Stats
UMBC: Video | Audio | Live Stats | Tickets
Vermont Notes (.pdf)
 
UMBC TIME CHANGE
Fans are reminded to note that Saturday's game against UMBC at Patrick Gymnasium has been shifted up one hour to 1 p.m. The game was previously scheduled for a 2 p.m. tip.
 
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CATAMOUNTS RECAP
Sydney Smith registered a season-high 24 points but Vermont was unable to compensate for four double-figure Binghamton scorers as the Catamounts fell 76-61 on Monday night at Dr. Bai Lee Court at the Events Center. Hanna Crymble, the reigning America East Rookie of the Week, turned in an 18-point night on 7-of-12 shooting as well as a 3-for-3 effort from the free throw line. She recorded a game-high nine rebounds, while Hayley Robertson dished out four assists to lead Vermont.
 
SCOUTING NEW HAMPSHIRE
UNH (19-4, 9-1 AE) is atop the America East standings and is coming off of a 64-55 setback at Albany that snapped the Wildcats' 13-game winning streak, a program record. As a team, the group is scoring an average of 61 points per game while surrendering a conference-best 54.1 per night.
 
Junior Carlie Pogue boasts a team-best 15.2 points per game and has cast double figures in nine straight games as well as 13 of her last 14. Her average mark ranks third in the conference. On the glass, look for Pogue as well as she averages 6.8 boards, while Brittni Lai turns in just under two steals a night.
 
SCOUTING UMBC
Winners in six of its last seven, UMBC (11-12, 6-4 AE) enters the week on the heels of a 66-62 win at home over Maine. Taylor McCarley guided the Retrievers with 21 points on 8-of-11 from the field as the team held off a late comeback effort by Maine. Prior to visiting Burlington, UMBC heads to Hartford on Thursday (Feb. 9).
 
McCarley heads up the team's offensive efforts, draining a team-best 15.8 points per game and helping the group emerge as one of the top 3-point shooting squad's in America East (33.9 percent). Also in the mix is Laura Castaldo (11.4 ppg), while senior Pandora Wilson has compiled an even six rebounds per night.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
The Green and Gold rattled off 11 consecutive wins over UNH from 2006-10 en route to a current 41-37 advantage in the series. UVM swept the Wildcats last season in the regular season pair and has three of its last four with the Wildcats. That stretch dates back to Feb. 11, 2015, when the Catamounts grabbed a 63-60 victory in a closely-contested game that featured 12 ties and 15 lead changes.
 
UMBC holds a 15-14 all-time upper hand taking the last six meetings of the sides. The Catamounts' longest winning streak in the series also happens to be at six as UVM grabbed consecutive victories from 2008-10. Niki Taylor and then-freshman Kristina White combined to score UVM's final 14 points en route to the squad's most recent victory over the Retrievers, a 63-59 result in Burlington on Jan. 18, 2014.
 
LAST TIME AROUND
A valiant rally attempt by the Catamounts came up just short as UVM fell to New Hampshire at Patrick Gymnasium on Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 16).  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. Sydney Smith had 15 points in the second half and Hanna Crymble added 15 on the afternoon for the Green and Gold.
 
At UMBC on January 14, Kristina White led the Catamounts with 18 points, while Crymble's 10 boards were a team-high. The latter also contributed 11 points to secure her second career double-double but a late sequence in overtime pushed the Retrievers to a 69-66 win. A total of 12 lead changes occurred during a very closely-contested second half and overtime period.
 
CATS CLIMBING THE RECORD BOOK
As a junior, Sydney Smith has etched her name in the record book by virtue of sinking 157 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. Former Catamount Kayla Burchill (2011-15) ranks fourth with 170 makes from downtown.
 
ALL THE 'WRIGHT' REASONS
In addition to Smith, sophomore Candice Wright continues to leave a mark in the record book. The native of Cambridge, Ontario has registered 83 blocks in less than two seasons and sits in a tie for eighth all-time in program history with former Catamount Morgan Hall (1999-2003). She holds the distinction of being the fastest in program history to reach that mark. Of the top-7 blockers all-time, none had more than 47 through their their sophomore campaign (Karalyn Church through the 1997-98 season).
 
As a freshman last year, Wright logged 50 blocks, setting a single-season program record. If she continues at her current pace of 1.69 per game, she will break Katie McNamara's (2000-05) all-time program record of 102 career blocks no later than her junior campaign.
 
HEY ROOKIE!
On Monday (Feb. 6), freshman Hanna Crymble was honored for the second time as the America East Rookie of the Week. She played an integral part in UVM's thrilling double overtime win over Hartford this past Saturday (Feb. 4), inking 20 points in the scorebook to go with 13 rebounds to secure her fourth career double-double.
 
She went 13-for-25 from the field in her 45-minute effort, also turning in a 6-for-7 sheet from the free throw line. The win over Hartford secured UVM's first against the Hawks since Jan. 7, 2012 and first in Burlington since Feb. 13, 2008.
 
GOOD THINGS COME IN THREE'S
In Vermont's January 4 win over Maine, UVM allowed just three second quarter points, representing a tie for the fewest allowed by the team in a single 10-minute period. In a Feb. 28, 2016 victory over Stony Brook, UVM surrendered just three points in the fourth quarter in preserving a 44-37 victory over the Seawolves at Patrick Gymnasium.
 
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
Saturday's game against UMBC begins a three-game homestand for the Catamounts, who host UMass Lowell on Wednesday, Feb. 15 in a 7 p.m. game at Patrick Gymnasium.
 
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