BURLINGTON, VT – Vermont women's basketball (3-3) used a season-high (in a quarter) 29 points in the second quarter to blow past Stonehill (1-5) 70-48 in the first round of the TD Bank Classic on Saturday at Patrick Gym. With the victory the Catamounts will play in the TD Bank Championship game tomorrow at 3 p.m. at Patrick Gym.
 
RELATED LINKS
Box Score | Box Score (.pdf)
CatamounTV Highlights
 
COACH'S QUOTE
"I liked our inside presence I think we have to have that, and obviously when we are hitting outside shots and have an inside presence it is hard to defend," said Mayer Head Women's Basketball Coach Alisa Kresge. "It's nice to see the three-ball go in and I think that goes back to our shot selection. When we take high-percentage shots we have a good chance of hitting those. There's always something we can get better at, and I think there's a couple more that we could have finished."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The two teams traded blows throughout the first quarter with Catherine Gilwee leading the way with seven points, but the two teams remained deadlocked 14-14 at the end of the quarter.
• The Catamounts used a 12-2 run over a three and a half minute span from 9:26-5:56 in the second quarter to break open the game and expand their lead to double digits, 26-16.
• Anna Olson started off the run with a layup then Jada Thompson answered with a layup on the other end for Stonehill to knot the score back up at 16. Delaney Richason then knocked down a three before Bella Vito and Emma Utterback made back-to-back layups and Catherine Gilwee knocked down a three to push the Catamounts lead to 26-16.
• Over the final 5:56 the two teams went back-and-forth with the Catamounts outscoring the Skyhawks 17-11 behind five off the bench from Maria Myklebust.
• Vermont exploded in the second quarter for a season high (in a quarter) 29 points to expand their lead to 43-27 at the half.
• The two teams battled to start the third quarter with Stonehill holding a slight 9-8 edge following a Chelsea Graiver three to cut the Catamount lead to 51-36.
• Carla Celaya responded on the other end with a three to spark an 8-0 run for Vermont over the final 3:45 of the quarter to expand their lead to 59-36 heading into the final stanza.
• Stonehill responded with a 7-0 run to start the fourth quarter to cut the Vermont lead to 16, 59-43.
• Emma Utterback settled the Catamounts down with a layup on the other end and following a Maureen Stapleton layup Myklebust answered for Vermont to keep the lead at 18, 63-45 with 4:50 remaining.
• UVM continued their strong play over the final 4:50 outscoring Stonehill 9-3. Andjela Matic and Olson each added a layup while Maria Myklebust converted an and-one with 24 seconds remaining to seal the Catamounts victory at 70-48.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Emma Utterback led all scorers with 16 points while also adding a game high five assists.
• Maria Myklebust scored a career-high 15 points on a perfect 5-5 from the field and 3-3 from the free throw line, coming off the bench.
• Catherine Gilwee knocked down multiple threes for the fourth time this season registering 13 points on an efficient 5-9 shooting. Gilwee also added four assists and a steal.
• Anna Olson rounded out the double-figure scorers for the Catamounts finishing with 11 points and four rebounds.
• UVM dominated in the paint outscoring Stonehill 36-22.
• Vermont narrowly edged out the Skyhawks on the glass outrebounding Stonehill 34-32.

 
UP NEXT
Following today's victory over Stonehill the Catamounts will play Siena in the Championship game at 3 p.m. tomorrow in Patrick Gym. Siena defeated Oakland by a score of 78-71. The championship game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ and on WVMT with Ryan Zimmerman on the call. Stonehill will play Oakland at noon in Patrick Gym. That game will be broadcast live on AmericaEast.TV.