Final Score: Vermont 61, Bryant 48
BURLINGTON, VT – The Catamounts earned their fifth consecutive win with a dominant 61-35 victory over Bryant at Patrick Gym on Saturday afternoon. With the victory the Catamounts improve to 14-7 (6-1 AE) on the season and maintain their second place positioning in America East. With the defeat the Bulldogs fall to 10-10 (3-4 AE) on the season.
 
RELATED LINKS
Box Score | Box Score (.pdf)
CatamounTV Highlights
 
COACH'S QUOTE
"I was really happy with our defensive effort today," said Mayer Head Women's Basketball Coach Alisa Kresge. "We set the tone from the beginning and had some key defensive performances off the bench. It was a collective team effort on both sides of the ball. I am really pleased with – coming into a game that was scary, Bryant was a really hot team – trying to set the tone and not let them have any life from the start, I thought we did a good job."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Both teams struggled to score to start the game before Paula Gonzalez broke open the scoring for Vermont with a layup 2:31 into the first quarter.
• Gonzalez's layup helped spark a 9-3 run for the Catamounts over the first 5:37 of the game.
• Bryant responded with a quick 5-2 spurt over the next two minutes to cut the score to 11-8 with 2:39 remaining in the first quarter.
• Keira Hanson forced a steal which led to an Emma Utterback layup on the other end for Vermont which sparked a 5-0 run for Vermont to end the first quarter with a 16-8 lead. Utterback scored three points while Andjela Matic added two for Vermont.
• Utterback led all scorers with seven points in the first quarter while Gonzalez added five for the Catamounts. Martina Boba led the Bulldogs with three points in the first quarter.
• The two teams battled back-and-forth throughout the first eight minutes of the second quarter with both teams scoring six points each. Sylvia Gonzalez converted on a layup with 1:40 remaining in the first half to bring the Bulldogs back into striking distance, 22-14.
• Vermont then answered with a quick 6-3 spurt, behind two Hanson threes, to take a 28-17 lead into the halftime break.
• Vermont blew things open to start the third quarter with a layup from Utterback and a wing three from Gonzalez to seize a 33-17 lead a minute into the second half.
• Bryant responded with a 6-2 span to cut the deficit to 35-23 following a Megan Bodziony triple with 5:29 remaining in the third quarter.
• The Catamounts again used the deep ball to respond, rattling off a 14-2 run over the final five plus minutes of the quarter to take a commanding 49-25 lead into the final quarter. Hanson and Utterback each knocked down a three during the span, while Matic connected on both her three point attempts.
• Vermont jumped to an early 7-2 advantage in the fourth quarter behind a Bella Vito corner jumper and a Hanson corner three to seize their largest lead of the game at, 56-27, with 7:07 remaining.
• Bryant continued to fight over the final seven plus minutes outscoring Vermont 10-7, but Vermont was able to maintain their lead and seize a commanding 61-35 victory at home.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Hanson led all scorers with 16 points and connected on 44.4 percent (4-for-9) of her threes, while also registering a game and career-high four steals.
• Vito finished with a game-high and tied career-high 13 rebounds to go along with two assists and two points. Vito set a season-high with four offensive boards.
• Utterback finished with 14 points two assists and a steal.
• Vermont shot 39.3 percent from the floor and connected on 38.5 percent (10-of-26) of their threes. The 10 three pointers made was one shy of the Catamount's season high.
• UVM held Bryant to just 25.0 percent shooting from the field and an abysmal 18.8 percent from deep.
• Vermont earned their largest margin of victory on the glass this season, +20, outrebounding the Bulldogs 46-26.
• The Catamounts also dominated second chance points (14-5) and bench points (29-13).
• Vermont held the lead for 36:57 of game action and only trailed for a total of 32 seconds.
• The Catamounts matched their largest victory of the season, having defeated Dartmouth by 26, 58-32, earlier in the season.

 
WHAT'S NEXT 
Following Saturday's matchup Vermont will head on the road to New York where they will face UAlbany on Thursday, February 1 and Binghamton on Saturday, February 3. Thursday's matchup with the Great Danes is scheduled for 7 p.m. and next Saturday's meeting with Binghamton is scheduled for 2 p.m. Both games will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with the international stream available via AmericaEast.TV. Fans can also listen to the game for free on the Varsity Network App, from Learfield on WVMT, which will air on 96.3 FM in Burlington, 105.9 FM in Plattsburgh, and 620 AM around the rest of the region, with the voice of Catamounts women's basketball, Ryan Zimmerman, on the call.
 
Vermont Federal Credit Union is the presenting sponsor of Vermont Women's Basketball