BURLINGTON, VT – The Catamounts held on to a 68-60 win over Maine at Patrick Gym Wednesday night to extend their winning streak to nine games, the longest regular season winning streak since 2002. With the victory Vermont improves to 17-6 overall and 9-2 in America East while the Black Bears fall to 12-11 overall and 8-3 in conference play.
 
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Box Score | Box Score (.pdf)
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COACH'S QUOTE
"First, thank you to our amazing fans and giving us the boost we needed." said Mayer Head Women's Basketball Coach Alisa Kresge. "I am really proud of the toughness we showed down the stretch. We've got to get back to work tomorrow and get ready for a really tough road game this weekend."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Emma Utterback got the scoring started for Vermont with a layup on their opening possession and then Bella Vito finished on a fast break layup to put the Catamounts up 4-0 and cause an early Maine timeout with 8:53 remaining in the first quarter.
•  Out of the timeout the Black Bears went scoreless on two trips and Delaney Richason was able to finish on a layup to extend the early Vermont run to 6-0.
• The Black Bears battled back with a three and a layup from Paula Gallego followed by a pull-up jumper from Adrianna Smith (game-high 29 points) to cut the lead to 10-7 with 5:53 remaining in the first quarter.
• The Catamounts countered with a 9-0 of their own to finish the first quarter started by an Utterback layup. First year Carla Celaya capped the first stanza off with a three to extend the Vermont lead to 19-7 going into the second quarter. Richason and Maria Myklebust each had two points during the run as well.
• Smith opened the scoring in the second quarter off an offensive rebound and putback to cut the score to 19-9 with 9:37 remaining.
• Vermont answered with a 12-5 run over the next 6:53 of action started by an Anna Olson turnaround jumper following Smith's layup. Utterback capped the run with a three following great ball movement to put Vermont up 31-14 with 2:44 remaining in the first half. Utterback had six while Richason, Olson and Catherine Gilwee each had two points during the run.
• Maine would not go away as Smith took over and helped them battled over the next two plus minutes with a 10-0 run of their own to trim the lead to just 31-24 going into halftime. Smith scored seven going 2-4 from the field and 3-3 from the free throw line while grabbing down three boards. Gallego also added a three during the run.
• The two teams came out hot in the third quarter battling, with Maine drawing as close as 34-31 following an Olivia Rockwood three with 7:00 remaining.
• Vito had a huge jumper from the top of the key while Myklebust added six of her eight points down the stretch to help the Catamounts hold on to a 15-14 edge in the quarter and take a 46-38 lead into the final stanza.
• Smith scored for the Black Bears with a layup on the opening possession of the fourth quarter to spark a 12-4 Maine run that lasted nearly five minutes. The run culminated in the score being tied up 50-50 following a Smith hook shot in the paint with 5:01 remaining in the game.
• Vermont was able to gain their composure following a Gilwee free throw (7-8 on the night) and outscore the Black Bears 18-10 over the final 4:43 of the game.
• Vermont knocked down 12-13 free throws down the stretch led by seven from Gilwee and two each from Richason, Olson and Utterback. Olson also helped finish off the stretch run with two key layups.
• Richason's two free throws with 27 seconds left proved to seal the game as the Catamounts closed the game out 68-60.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Utterback paced the Catamounts with 17 points on 53.8% (7-13) shooting with three rebounds and one assist.
• Richason finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and a game-high three blocks. She also shot 57.1% (4-7) from the floor.
• Olson finished with 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds to go with two blocks and 75.0% (3-4) from the free throw line.
• The Catamounts had three or more players score in double digits for the fourth straight game.
• Vermont extended their winning streak to nine games which is the longest winning streak (of any kind) since 2008. The nine-game regular season winning streak is the longest since the 2001-02 season.
• The Catamounts captured their first regular-season sweep of Maine since the 2010 season.
• With today'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 three three-pointers made by Vermont, M&T Bank will be donating $75 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.

 
WHAT'S UP NEXT
Following tonight's matchup with Maine the Catamounts will head on the road for a matchup with America East foe UMass Lowell on Saturday, February 11. The start time for the game is scheduled for 1 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN3. Ryan Zimmerman, the voice of Catamounts women's basketball, will be on the call on the radio on WVMT.