FINAL SCORE: Vermont 69, Niagara 63
BURLINGTON, Vt. – For the first time since 2008, Vermont (23-11, 12-4 AE) hosted the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) where they faced Niagara (21-14, 15-5 MAAC) in the second round, earning a 69-63 victory over the Purple Eagles on Monday evening from Patrick Gym. With the win, Vermont advances to the WNIT Super 16 for the second time in program history, while extending their home WNIT record to 4-0.
 
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COACH'S QUOTE
"I have to give a lot of credit to our practice squad; we have five guys that just get after it. They helped us prepare [for the pressure] against Niagara. In the second half I thought we did a better job of understanding that we have to anticipate who is going to be open," said Mayer Head Women's Basketball Coach Alisa Kresge. "Obviously we're going to get the ball in Emma's hands, I felt like she's one who can really handle that pressure and make good decisions out of it. But I felt like we did a good job of understanding and we had our flashers and for the most part we did a good job of not putting ourselves on the sideline."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• On the Catamounts very first possession, Anna Olson corralled the rebound off Keria Hanson's shot, finding Delaney Richason in the corner for a mid-range jump shot, giving Vermont a 2-0 lead to klick off scoring between both teams.
• A give and go play between Bella Vito and Emma Utterback allowed for Vito to free up space and get in the paint where she made her floating jump shot to give Vermont a 4-3 lead with 6:30 remaining in the opening frame.
• The final four minutes in quarter one ended with UVM earning a hard battled 12-11 scoring run with each team trading baskets back and forth. Andjela Matic swished two three pointers in the run to give Vermont a 16-14 edge.
• Niagara began the second quarter scoring five consecutive points before Utterback ignited a 7-0 scoring run for UVM after swishing her step back mid-range jump shot from the corner. Matic drilled her third three pointer of the game followed by a tough layup from Vito to give Vermont a 23-19 advantage, forcing Niagara to call a timeout with 5:27 of the half remaining.
• With 1:49 left to play in the second frame, Utterback fed Matic behind the line who dialed up her fourth three-pointer of the match to give the Catamounts a 29-21 lead.
• Each team scored four free-throws each before Angel Parker concluded scoring in the half after making her layup with two seconds remaining on the clock. Vermont went into halftime ahead by six, 33-27.
• Before the first media timeout of the third quarter, the Purple Eagles opened scoring with a jumper from Aaliyah Parker, beginning a 9-4 scoring run, knotting the score at 36-36 with 6:38 remaining in the third frame.
• Vito regained the lead for Vermont with 5:51 in the quarter remaining after Utterback found her in the corner in front of the UVM bench for a mid-range jump shot, putting the Catamounts ahead by one, 39-38.
• At the 3:35 mark of the quarter, Utterback froze her defender at the three-point line with a package of crossovers before darting her way to the rim on the left side, finishing her layup attempt with her right hand, earning Vermont the 42-40 advantage.
• In the final three minutes of action during the third quarter, Olson and Matic tallied three points at the free-throw line, in addition to a mid-range jump shot from Hanson with 1:50 remaining to put Vermont ahead 47-46 before heading into the final quarter.
• Utterback responded to Niagara's opening basket to start the fourth quarter, swishing her first three-pointer of the game, from the elbow, maintaining the lead for Vermont, 50-48, with 8:57 of gametime remaining.  
• On the Catamounts next offensive possession, Hanson launched a pass over everyone head, halfway across the court, finding Utterback wide open in the paint where she executed her layup attempt, handing Vermont a 52-48 lead with 8:31 to go.
• With 5:25 of clock remaining, Hanson drilled her third basket of the game, a mid-range shot from the corner, keeping Vermont ahead, 54-52.
• Less than two minutes later, Matic found Hanson behind the line, igniting the Catamount crowd with her first three-pointer of the game with 3:39 to go, giving Vermont a 58-52 lead.
• Two clutch offensive rebounds from Olson and Matic with under a minute to play resulted in Hanson getting to the charity line, making one free throw to put Vermont ahead 65-61 with 0:19 to play. Vermont's last seven points came from the free-throw line.
• Four free throws from Matic in the final ten seconds and a massive block from Hanson down the stretch sealed the deal for Vermont, earning them a 69-63 victory over Niagara in the second round of the WNIT tournament.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Matic led a team-high in points, earning a new career high 19 total after shooting 4-5 from distance and 7-8 from the free throw line. Matic also set a new career high in rebounds, corralling eight (2 offense, 6 defense) throughout the match. Matic tallied three assists and one steal, adding to her career night.
• Utterback finished with 17 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
• Hanson was the third Catamount in double figure scoring, earning 12 total points to go along with three rebounds, one assists, two steals and a game-high two blocks.
• Olson had a game-high seven assists while also tying a team-high eight rebounds to go along with six points and one block.
• UVM won the turnover battle, only committing nine to Niagara's 23. UVM also had more bench points, scoring 19 to the opponents 17.
• Vermont shot better from the floor, shooting 46.5% (20-of-43) while Niagara shot 31.7% (20-of-63) and better from long distance shooting 40.0% (6-of-15) while Niagara shot 21.1% (4-of-19).
• Vermont made 23-of-32 shots from the free throw line, the most free throws made in a single game all season for the Catamounts.  

 
UP NEXT
After their second-round victory in the 2024 WNIT tournament, the Catamounts prepare to face Colgate in the WNIT Super 16 on March 29 at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with Rob Ryan and Bernie Cieplicki on the call. Ryan Zimmerman, the voice of the Catamounts women's basketball team, will have the radio call on WVMT.