FINAL SCORE: UAlbany 35, Vermont 67
BURLINGTON, Vt. – The Catamounts came out victorious against UAlbany by a score of 67-35, defeating the Great Danes for the second time this season, the first time since 2010 Vermont has swept UAlbany in the regular season. With the win, Vermont improves to 19-9 on the season, 11-3 in America East action. With the loss, UAlbany falls to 22-4 and 11-2 in conference. The Catamounts are the only team to have beaten UAlbany in conference thus far.
 
RELATED LINKS
Box Score | Box Score (.pdf)
CatamounTV Highlight
 
COACH'S QUOTE
"I really think we showed what we hoped our standard is," said Mayer Women's Head Basketball Coach Alisa Kresge. "It's 40 minutes, starting toughness, and defense locked in and focused. Very few defensive laps, share the ball on offense, and really that's what we want to look like for 40 minutes. I think that was a taste of potentially what we could be like, now we got to figure that out."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• A steal by Delaney Richason on the Great Danes' opening possession led to the Catamounts taking the first lead of the game after Emma Utterback swished her first shot from beyond the arc.
• Following the opening bucket, Anna Olson and Bella Vito dialed up a 6-2 scoring run forcing UAlbany to call their first timeout with 4:54 left of the first quarter. Vermont led 9-2.
• Vermont held UAlbany to the fewest first quarter points they've scored all season, ending the quarter on a 7-2 scoring run, bringing them into the second frame with a 16-4 lead. Paula Gonzalez found Andjela Matic cross court who was wide open for the three-point shot, scoring her first basket of the game.
• Gonzalez got scoring started for Vermont in the second frame after coming off the pick and roll set by Olson and swishing her mid-range jump shot. Matic followed with another three-pointer, extending the Catamounts lead, 21-4.
• Keira Hanson gave Vermont a 20-point lead, 35-15, after Matic found her at the top of the three-point line with few seconds to spare, splashing her shot right before the buzzer rang. Before Hanson's buzzer beater three, Vermont and UAlbany went on a back-and-forth, 11-11 run, trading off baskets before heading into halftime.
• Richason drilled a three-pointer to open scoring for the Catamounts in the third quarter, elevating their lead, 38-15.
• Utterback kept the pressure on, making a three-pointer of her own with 5:40 left of the quarter. On the next possession, Utterback shook a defender with an in-and-out handle on the fast break, freeing up space to feed Olson waiting under the basket. Olson's made layup gave Vermont the 43-18 lead.   
• Matic stayed perfect from the floor after scoring a layup through contact, placing the ball high off the backboard in order to get the shot to drop. Matic went on to make two free-throws on the following possession. Vermont led 49-21 with 3:38 remaining in the quarter.
• The Catamounts went up by 30 after Hanson lost her defender in the paint with seconds to spare on the shot clock, making her layup on the right side, putting Vermont up, 51-21.
• Utterback concluded scoring for the Catamounts in the third with 1:09 reaming after delivering on her layup with the left hand. Vermont entered the final quarter ahead 55-26.
• Richason led the charge for UVM entering the fourth, scoring the first five points for Vermont, including a layup plus a foul, where she swished her free-throw. The Catamounts led 60-31 with 4:43 left of gametime.
• Vermont capped the game with a 7-4 scoring run, ultimately cruising past UAlbany by 32 points, defeating the Great Danes 67-35 on home court.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Prior to tip-off, Utterback and Richason were acknowledged for playing their final regular season home game in Patrick Gym. With this game, Utterback and Richason played their 126th game in a Catamount uniform, tying them for third in all time games played for Vermont.
• Four players had double digit points, led by Matic with 18, Utterback with 12, and both Richason and Olson recording 10.
• Matic tied a career-high 18 points, which she originally earned against New Hampshire in a 75-41 victory on Feb. 15. Matic shot 5-5 from the floor, 4-4 from three-point range, and 4-4 from the free throw line.
• UVM never trailed for a single second in the victory over UAlbany. Leading for 39:03 out of the 40 minutes played.
• In their last four wins, Vermont has defeated each opponent by at least 24+ points.
• Vermont's bench outscored UAlbany's bench, 31-12.
• On the defensive side, UVM earned eight steals to the Great Danes' three.
• UVM shot better in all three categories, shooting 54.2 percent (26-of-48) from the floor, 47.1 percent (8-of-17) from three, and 87.5 percent (7-of-8) from the free throw line.
• With the win, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group will donate $100 to Vermont Children's Trust Foundation as part of the Cats Win, Community Wins initiative. Since its inauguration in 2017, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group has donated over $94,000 to local non-profits through the Cats Win, Community Wins initiative.

 
UP NEXT
Following Thursday's matchup Vermont hits the road to face Bryant on Saturday, February 24. Saturday's meeting with Bryant is scheduled for 2 p.m. The game 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. 

AMERICA EAST PLAYOFFS
With Thursday's results around the league the Catamounts have clinched the three seed or higher in the upcoming Jersey Mike's America East Playoffs. With this, Vermont will host at least a quarterfinal at Patrick Gym, and are still alive for the No. 1 seed. More playoff information will be to come as seeding is determined. 
 
Vermont Federal Credit Union is the presenting sponsor of Vermont Women's Basketball