ESTERO, FL – The Catamounts fell 54-51 to No. 18 North Carolina at Hertz Arena in the opening round of the Gulf Coast Showcase on Friday (Nov. 24) afternoon. With the victory the Tar Heels improve to 5-0 on the season, while the Catamounts fall to 3-2 with the loss.
 
RELATED LINKS
Box Score | Box Score (.pdf)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Tar Heels took an early 6-3 lead after a Maria Gakdeng putback layup with 5:41 remaining in the first quarter.
• Vermont responded by ending the opening period on a 10-2 run to seize a 13-8 lead heading into the second quarter. Emma Utterback led the Catamounts with four points while Bella Vito, Andjela Matic, and Nikola Priede all added two.
• The two teams battled back-and-forth over the first five plus minutes of the second quarter with No. 18 North Carolina holding an 8-7 advantage. Deja Kelly scored four of her team-high 18 points during that span. Her driving layup with 4:18 remaining cut the Catamounts lead to 20-17.
• Vermont responded strong finishing the final four minutes of the half on an 8-0 run to take a 28-17 lead into halftime. Paula Gonzalez and Delaney Richason each knocked down a three for the Catamounts during that span.
• No. 18 North Carolina came out and drained a three on their opening possession, but Vito answered on the other end for the Catamounts to regain an 11-point advantage (31-20) with 8:45 remaining in the quarter.
• UVM outscored the Tar Heels 8-6 over the next three minutes to take their largest lead of the game, 39-26, heading into the media timeout with 3:15 remaining.
• Both offenses stalled to end the quarter with No. 18 North Carolina outscoring Vermont 3-0 to trim the deficit to nine (39-30) heading into the final stanza.
• The Tar Heels closed the Catamounts' lead to just 39-34 following a Kelly free throw with 8:00 minutes left.
• In response, on back-to-back possessions, Utterback and Malia Lenz each knocked down a three for Vermont to push their lead to 45-34 with 5:50 remaining in the game.
• No. 18 North Carolina went on to outscore the Catamounts 20-6 the rest of the way.
• UVM still had a chance at the end after Lexi Donarski went 1-2 from the free throw line to put the Tar Heels up 54-51 with three seconds remaining. However, the Catamounts committed a turnover on their final possession and No. 18 North Carolina eked out the victory.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Utterback finished tied for a game-high with 18 points on 57.1 percent shooting (8-for-14). She also added five assists and two rebounds. She ranks 11th all-time in Vermont program history with 1,349 career points.
• Richason contributed eight points and a team-high seven rebounds to go along with three assists.
• Priede scored a career-high nine points alongside three rebounds.
• Vermont shot 33.3 percent from the field and held North Carolina to just 32.8 percent shooting and only 12.5 percent from beyond the arc.
• The Catamounts are the first team this season to carry a lead into halftime against the Tar Heels.

 
UP NEXT
The Catamounts take on Western Kentucky at Hertz Arena in the consolation bracket on Saturday (Nov. 25) at 11 a.m. Western Kentucky fell in their Gulf Coast Showcase opener to No. 16 Kansas State 77-61 on Friday (Nov. 24) morning. The winner of Saturday's matchup will play in the fifth place game (1:30 p.m.) while the loser will play in the seventh place game (11 a.m.) on Sunday (Nov. 26).
 
BROADCAST INFORMATION
The matchup between the Catamounts and the Lady Toppers will be broadcast live on FloHoops. Fans can also 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.

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