WORCESTER MASS. – The Catamounts used a dominant second half and Emma Utterback registered her 1,000th career point as Vermont rolled past Holy Cross on the road on Tuesday (Dec. 20) morning. With the victory the Catamounts finish non-conference play with an 8-4 record and the Crusaders fall to 8-3 on the season.
 
COACH'S QUOTE
"Great way to finish our non-conference schedule," Said Mayer Head Women's Basketball Coach Alisa Kresge. "I am very proud of how our team competed today for 40 minutes. I thought we shared the basketball well and made the extra pass. A big congratulations to Emma and her joining the 1,000 point club. She has worked very hard but knowing her, she'll be ready to get back to work. We'll need to learn from our non-conference because league play will be extremely competitive night in and night out."
 
RELATED LINKS
Box Score | Box Score (.pdf)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Catamounts came out of the gates hot with Emma Utterback scoring the first points of the game on a fastbreak layup after Bella Vito took it from her defender and passed it ahead. Anna Olson recorded back-to-back buckets and Catherine Gilwee drained a three with 5:55 remaining in the half to put Vermont up 9-0.
• Holy Cross clawed their way back into the game as the two traded blows over the final five plus minutes of the first quarter. The Crusaders held a 9-6 advantage to cut the lead to 15-9 heading into the second quarter.
• In the second quarter the two teams locked in defensively with both teams struggling to find offense. Vermont used a 7-1 run over the first 6:18 of the quarter to push their lead to 22-10.
• The Crusaders flipped the script on the Catamounts going on an 8-1 run over the final 3:42 of the half to close the gap to 23-18 heading into the half.
• To start the second half the two teams were deadlocked in a battle with Vermont outscoring Holy Cross 6-5 over the first four minutes of the half. A Janelle Allen layup with 6:33 cut the score to 27-23, the closest the Crusaders would get the rest of the way.
• Vermont exploded on a 19-6 run to close the third quarter to take a 46-29 lead into the final stanza. Olson started the run with a layup, but it was Delaney Richason who really sparked the Catamounts run with nine points on three consecutive threes from 4:50-3:33 remaining to push their lead to 38-25.
• UVM extended their lead to start the fourth quarter with Gilwee knocking down a jump shot, and Anna Olson finished a layup to push Vermont's lead to 21, 50-29, with 7:48 remaining in the game.
• Over the final seven plus minutes of the game the Catamounts continued their dominance outscoring Holy Cross 14-5 led by Utterback's six points. Utterback reached her 1,000th point with a fast break layup with 1:57 remaining on an assist from Catherine Gilwee to put Vermont up 61-34. A Maria Myklebust three with 25 seconds left gave Vermont their largest lead of the game, and the final score 64-34.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Utterback finished with 12 points, recording her 1000th career point as a Catamount, to go along with a game-high seven assists. Utterback is just the 24th player in Vermont women's basketball history to reach that milestone.
• Olson led all scorers with 15 points to go along with seven rebounds and four assists.
• Richason scored 12 points with a season high four three pointers made.
• Vito registered a game-high eight rebounds and four steals to go with four points and an assist.
• With today's win, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group will donate $100 to COTS, the Committee on Temporary Shelter, as part of the Cats Win, Community Wins initiative. Since the campaign's inauguration in 2017, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group has donated over $72,000 to local non-profits.

 
UP NEXT
The Catamounts will begin America East Conference play on Thursday, December 29 when they face UAlbany on the road. The start time for that game is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Ryan Zimmerman will be on the call on the radio on WVMT.
 
NATIONAL GIRLS AND WOMEN IN SPORTS DAY
The University of Vermont Women's Basketball team will celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day powered by Vermont Mutual on Saturday, February 4th during their game against UAlbany at 12 P.M. On February 4th, girls from the local community with an interest in sports and being involved in this celebration will have the opportunity to become members of the UVM Athletic Staff for the day. Girls between fourth and eighth grade can apply to a wide variety of positions including: Public Address Announcer, Marketing Assistant, Ticket Staff, and many more! Participants will be able to work in the position for one half of the game, the other half they will be able to watch the game with their family. To apply, please visithttps://uvmathletics.com/sb_output.aspx?form=126