BURLINGTON, VT – The Catamounts defeated the Golden Knights 60-44 on Sunday afternoon in their annual First Responders Game. With the win Vermont improves to 3-1 (0-0 AE) on the season while Saint Rose falls to 0-2 (0-1 NE-10) on the young season.
 
RELATED LINKS
Box Score | Box Score (.pdf)
CatamounTV Highlights
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Both teams had a slow start to Sunday's matchup with neither team able to score in the first three plus minutes of the contest.
• Anna Olson broke open the scoring when she corralled her own offensive rebound and was fouled on the putback. She hit both her free throws to put UVM up 2-0 with 6:45 remaining in the first quarter.
• On the next possession Bella Vito knocked down a three to put Vermont up 5-0 with 5:52 remaining.
• Over the final five plus minutes of the first quarter the Catamounts outscored the Golden Knights 11-7. Syrita Faraj (game-high 14 points) led Saint Rose scoring all seven points to help the Golden Knights head into the first quarter break with a 16-7 deficit.
• Kaileigh Hunt connected on a layup on the Golden Knights first possession of the second quarter to cut the lead to 16-9. Right after, Paula Gonzalez knocked down a three on the Catamounts first possession of the second quarter to push Vermont's lead to double digits, 19-9.
• Following that possession Saint Rose battled back over the next nine plus minutes to close the score to 28-23 with 21 seconds remaining following an elbow jumper from Catherine Finnerty.
• On the other end, Malia Lenz knocked down a corner three on an assist from Emma Utterback to give the Catamounts a 31-23 lead heading into the halftime break.
• The Catamounts came out with a strong defensive effort over the first seven minutes of the third quarter, going on a 16-7 run, to seize a 47-30 lead. Olson led Vermont with six points during the span while Delaney Richason and Paula Gonzalez each knocked in a three for the Catamounts during the run.
• To end the third quarter, Saint Rose outscored Vermont 4-3 behind two free throws from Faraj and a jumper from Payton Graber to head into the final stanza with Vermont leading 50-34.
• The fourth quarter had a slow start before Nikola Priede converted on a layup for the Catamounts to put them up 52-34 with 6:42 remaining in the game.
• Saint Rose gave their best effort, and continued to battle, outscoring the Catamounts 10-8 over the final six plus minutes of the game.
• Graber knocked down two free throws for the Golden Knights to close the gap to 55-44 with 1:28 remaining. However, Keira Hanson knocked down a three on the next possession for the Catamounts. Then Priede closed the game out with a layup with 42 seconds left to give the game its final score of 60-44.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• With the victory, Vermont Mutual will donate $100 to King Street Center in Burlington. 
• Olson and Vito led the Catamounts with 10 points each.
• Vito also grabbed down a team-high eight boards to go along with two blocks and a steal.
• Vermont had nine different players score and seven score five points or more.
• Richason finished with five points and tied for a game-high with two blocks. She has now shot 44.4 percent from three over the last two games.
• Matic finished with a career-high nine points to go along with one assist on 3-5 shooting from three point range.
• Vermont shot a season high 37.0 percent from three and 43.6 percent on the game while holding Saint Rose to just 31.5 percent and only 30.8 percent from three.
• Vermont won the turnover battle with just 11 to Saint Rose's 16 and had 17 assists to just seven for the Golden Knights.

 
WHO'S NEXT
Following Sunday's matchup with Saint Rose the Catamounts will head on the road to Estero, Florida where they will play three games in the Gulf Coast Showcase. The Catamounts kickoff action in the tournament against North Carolina on Friday, November 24. Tip-off for that game is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. and will be broadcast live on FloHoops. Fans can listen to the game for free on the Vermont Sports Network, from Learfield on The Game, which will air on 97.1 FM in Burlington, 105.9 FM in Plattsburgh, and 960 AM around the rest of the region. The radio broadcast is also available via the Varsity Network App with Ryan Zimmerman on the call.
 
Vermont Federal Credit Union is the presenting sponsor of Vermont Women's Basketball