WOMEN'S BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK
The Catamounts (6-3) will begin their longest road trip under Mayer Women's Head Basketball Coach Alisa Kresge in Loretto, Pennsylvania when they face Saint Francis (0-7) on Thursday, December 8 at 5 p.m. That game will be broadcast live on NEC Front Row and Ryan Zimmerman, the voice of Vermont women's basketball, will be on the call on WVMT.
 
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CATS CONTINUING STREAKING
Vermont has won five games in a row and are looking to extend their streak to six. During their streak UVM has beaten Army, Stonehill, Siena, Dartmouth, and Marist, going 4-0 at home and 1-0 on the road. Vermont is defeating their opponents by a double-digit margin registering a scoring difference of 335-262 during this streak averaging 67.0 ppg while allowing just 52.4. Senior guard Emma Utterback leads the team in scoring, averaging 14.7 points per game also contributing 2.9 rebounds and 5.6 assists. During their five game win streak, sophomore guard Catherine Gilwee has led the way averaging 14.8 points, 1.6 boards, 3.0 assists and 0.6 steals per game in 34.2 minutes and 56.7 percent from three point range. This is tied for the longest winning streak under Mayer Women's Head Basketball Coach Alisa Kresge matching the Catamounts five game winning streak from February 14 to February 26 to end the 2021-22 regular season.
 
NATIONAL RECOGNITION
The Catamounts are leading the America East in scoring averaging 64.2 points per game on 43.65 percent shooting from the field and 39.2 percent from three point range with a scoring margin of +5.2. The scoring margin is ranked 146th in the country, while the field goal percentage is 82nd and first in the America East and their three point percentage leads the conference and is 13th in the country. The Catamounts have three of the top seven scorers in the conference including America East leading scorer Emma Utterback who ranks 195th in the country. Gilwee is ranked sixth in the country in three pointers made and 40th nationally in three pointers attempted. Her 45.9 percent shooting from three is 46th nationally, but only two of the players ahead of her have attempted as many or more three point shots than Gilwee. Gilwee is coming off an America East Player of the Week Award where she averaged 19.0 points 3.5 assists and 1.0 rebounds per game, knocked down a game winner with 1.2 seconds remaining on the road against Dartmouth, shot 75.0 percent from three, 83.3 percent from the free throw line and led the Catamounts to another perfect week, extending their win streak to five games. The first NET rankings of the 2022-23 campaign were released on Monday with UVM pacing the America East as the top program coming in at 192 while Maine checked in at 224 followed by UAlbany at 261.
 
CATS ROAD TRIP
The Cats begin a five game road trip starting with Saint Francis on Thursday at 5 p.m. Vermont will then face Duquesne during their trip in Pennsylvania before returning to the northeast to face Sacred Heart and Holy Cross. The road trip will end with the beginning of America East play when the Catamounts visit rival UAlbany on Thursday, December 29. This is the longest road trip under Coach Kresge and longest in Vermont women's basketball history since 1998-99 when UVM played 6 straight road games.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
This will be the second matchup all time with Saint Francis holding a 1-0 edge in the series. Vermont lost their only ever matchup at home 73-69 in double overtime on December 1, 2019. Utterback registered her first career 20-point game in that defeat to go along with six boards. Delaney Richason added two points, four rebounds and an assist for Vermont. The Catamounts have a 22-18 overall record against the NEC, having defeated Stonehill 70-48 earlier this year at the TD Bank Classic. Utterback registered 16 points and five assists in the victory while teammate Maria Myklebust went 5-5 from the field and scored a career-high 15 points. Following Saint Francis, the Catamounts will face one more NEC foe this year when they take on Sacred Heart on the road.
 
SCOUTING THE RED FLASH
Saint Francis enters this Thursday evening matchup against the Catamounts with a 0-7 record in the 2022-23 season. In their last game, the Red Flash faced Marquette on the road, losing 83-40. In seven games played, Saint Francis is averaging 46.7 points per game on 36.5 percent shooting and 23.3 percent from three. On the defensive side the Red Flash are averaging 6.7 steals and 1.9 blocks per contest. Junior guard Filippa Goula leads the team in scoring with 8.4 points per game to go along with 2.4 boards and 3.1 assists. Sophomore forward Layla Laws is second on the team averaging 8.3 points and 5.0 rebounds to go along with 1.4 assists. Aaliyah Moore is leading Saint Francis with 8.6 rebounds per game to go along with 7.4 points and 1.4 assists per contest.
 
WHO'S NEXT
Following their matchup with Saint Francis, Vermont will continue on the road when they face Duquesne on December 10, 2022. The start time for that game is scheduled for 1 p.m. and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN+. The voice of the Catamounts' women's basketball team, Ryan Zimmerman, will be on the call on WVMT.