BURLINGTON, VT – The Catamounts earned their sixth consecutive win Wednesday night defeating Binghamton 63-56 at Patrick Gym. With the victory Vermont improves to 14-6 and 6-2 in the America East, while with the defeat the Bearcats fall to 10-11 and 3-5 in conference play.
 
RELATED LINKS
Box Score | Box Score (.pdf)
CatamounTV Highlights

COACH'S QUOTE
"Tonight was another one of those tough, hard fought games," said Mayer Head Women's Basketball Coach Alisa Kresge. "Going into the game, we knew rebounding was going to be a key factor. We won the battle of the glass and that was a huge part of why we were able to come out with the win."

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Catamounts started quickly with four points from Anna Olson and two each from Delaney Richason and Emma Utterback to take an 8-4 lead with 6:28 remaining in the first quarter.
• Binghamton battled back and with a Jadyn Weltz (12 points) layup the Bearcats tied the game at 10-10 with 3:27 left in the first.
• The two teams went back and forth with both teams recording five points each to take a 15-15 score into the second stanza. Weltz capped off the quarter with two free throws with three seconds left.
• Vermont's defense played a factor in the second quarter holding Binghamton to just eight points overall and used a 10-4 run over the first 6:30 of the quarter to take a 25-19 lead. Catherine Gilwee had five points during the run while her and Utterback both drained a three and first year Paula Gonzalez chipped in two points as well.
• Binghamton answered with an Ella Wanzer (6 points) layup and a Denai Bowman (11 points) jumper to cut the lead to 25-23 with 1:51 remaining.
• Vermont again had an answer closing out the first half with a 6-0 run on back-to-back threes from Richason and Gilwee to take a 31-23 lead into the halftime break.
• The Bearcats came out with a statement in the second half going on a 16-4 run over the first 6:42 of the third quarter to take a 39-35 lead over the Catamounts. Genevieve Coleman had five points during the run while Bowman had four and Wanzer converted both of her free throws.
• Richason responded for the Catamounts drilling a three with 2:19 remaining to draw the score within one, 39-38. Utterback converted on a layup on their next possession and Richason drained another three with 1:08 remaining to cap an 8-2 run that ended the third with UVM leading 43-41, a lead they would never relinquish.
• Olson took over the start of the fourth quarter going on a 6-0 run by herself over the first 1:47 of the quarter to give Vermont a 49-41 lead with 8:13 remaining.
• Over the next five minutes the Catamounts went cold from the field (0-5) and the Bearcats took advantage behind four from Weltz and two from Coleman to go on a 6-1 run and close the lead to 50-47 with 3:04 remaining, but that was the closest they would get.
• The Catamounts responded with an 8-3 run to capture a 58-50 lead with 36 seconds remaining, going 3-3 from the field led by their seniors Utterback and Richason who each had four.
• Down the stretch Vermont hit 3-of-4 free throws and first year Carla Celaya converted a layup to help UVM ice away a 63-56 victory.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Richason posted a career high with 21 points on an efficient 66.7 percent shooting from the floor and 75.0 percent shooting from three. She also grabbed down six rebounds and dished out a game-high four assists.
• Utterback had 14 points, three assists and three rebounds.
• Olson finished with 10 points while recording six rebounds and two assists.
• Gonzalez saw an important 16 minutes off the bench with five points, five rebounds and two assists.
• The Catamounts shot 45.3 percent for the game while holding the Bearcats to 38.6 percent.
• With tonight's win, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group will donate $100 to King Street Youth Center as part of the Cats Win, Community Wins initiative. Since its inauguration in 2017, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group has donated over $80,000 to local non-profits through the Cats Win, Community Wins initiative.  
• With the six three pointer made by Vermont M&T Bank will be donating $150 to the Vermont Foodbank. With a community bank approach, M&T Bank helps people reach their personal and business goals with banking, mortgage, loan and investment services.

UP NEXT
Following Wednesday night's matchup with the Bearcats Vermont will travel to Maryland on Saturday (Jan. 28) to take on America East rival UMBC. The matchup is scheduled to start at 12 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN3. The game can also be listened to on the radio on WVMT with Ryan Zimmerman, the voice of Catamounts women's basketball, on the call.
 
SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR SHE ROARS AND UVM ATHLETICS
She Roars has produced an exclusive line of apparel for UVM Athletics fans to show their support of all women, transwomen, femme and nonbinary folks in sport and in our community. The exclusive team store is open until 2/5 order now at go.uvm.edu/roar.
 
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 visit https://uvmathletics.com/sb_output.aspx?form=126