Women's Basketball

No. 15 Vermont Faces No. 2 UConn in NCAA First Round

For the first time in over a decade, Vermont is back in the NCAA Tournament!

No. 15 seed Vermont looks to pull off an upset when they travel to face No. 2 seed and 8th ranked UConn on Saturday. Gametime is set for 3 PM and will be nationally televised on ABC
 
Party Like It’s 2010
Vermont clinched its first America East Championship since 2010 with a 38-36 victory over UAlbany on March 10. The Catamounts limited the Great Danes to an America East Championship record low 36 points. UVM lead 17-10 at the half and pushed its lead to 30-17 through three quarters. UAlbany outscored the Catamounts 19-8 in the fourth and hit a three in the final ten seconds to trim the deficit to 37-36, but couldn’t complete the upset.
 
Most Outstanding Player
UVM senior Emma Utterback headlined the five member America East All-Championship team, as the guard was honored as the Most Outstanding Player of the playoffs. She scored a game-high 18 points in the championship with six rebounds for the playoffs, averaged 16.3 points 5.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.7 steals per game. Utterback, teammate Anna Olson, Kayla Cooper and Ellen Hahne of UAlbany, and Anne Simon from Maine were selected to the All-Championship Team.
 
Vermont Championship History
Vermont claimed its seventh America East Championship with its victory on Friday. The seven league titles are tied for the second most in conference history, tied with UAlbany. The program’s last title was 2010, when the Catamounts won as a No. 2 seed. They also claimed the 2008-09 Championship as a No. 3 seed and the 1999-2000 Championship as the top seed.
 
NCAA Tournament History
The America East is 5-32 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and has never advanced past second round. The last first round victory occurred in 2016, when No. 12 UAlbany beat No. 5 Florida 61-59. The Great Danes lost to No. 4 Syracuse 76-59 in the second round. Vermont earned a first round victory in 2010 as a No. 10 seed against No. 7 Wisconsin, 64-55, but fell to Notre Dame 84-66 in the second round. The America East is 0-6 all-time against UConn in the NCAA Tournament, most recently, UAlbany fell 116-55 in 2017.
 
We’re Going Streaking
UVM boasts a 17-game win streak, the fifth longest streak in the nation. Vermont is also one of two schools in the nation to have both its men’s and women’s programs on win streaks of at least 15 games. Toledo is the other school. 
 
Chairman of the Boards
Anna Olson finished one rebound shy of the championship record with 16 boards on Friday. She totaled 36 rebounds in the playoff run, including 15 offensive rebounds. Guard Bella Vito finished second on the team in rebounding with 25 during the tournament.
 
Starter Scoring
Over the team’s three conference tournament games, Vermont’s starters accounted for 149 of the team’s 169 points, which amounted to 88.2 percent of their scoring. For the season, UVM’s starters accounted for 79.3 percent of the team’s scoring.
 
 
Catamounts At A Glance – Roster – Team Statistics
  • Vermont is 25-6 this year and ranks eighth nationally in scoring defense, allowing 52.8 points per game, while scoring 61.6 points per contest.
  • UVM also leads the league in field goal percentage (43.1), three-point field goal percentage (36.5) and is third three-point makes per game (5.9).
  • Four players are averaging over 9.0 points per game, led by first-team all-conference performer Emma Utterback at a 14.0 points, 4.2 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game.
  • Anna Olson is second with 11.7 points and 6.7 rebounds, while Catherine Gilwee and Delaney Richason have combined to average 19.5 points per game while shooting 38.4 percent from three with 3.87 made threes per game.
 
Huskies at a Glance – Roster – Team Statistics
  • UConn is ranked 8th in the nation and comes in as a No. 2 seed with a 29-5 overall record.  
  • The Huskies are averaging 75.7 points per game while allowing 58.6 and are in the midst of a five-game win streak.
  • Aaliyah Edwards was named the BIG EAST’s Most Outstanding Player of the Championship and for the year is averaging 16.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per game to pace her team.
  • Overall five different players are averaging double figures, led by Edwards and followed by Lou Lopez Senechal who is putting up 15.7 points on a 43.0 percent shooting from downtown with 74 threes. Azzi Fudd (15.5), Dorka Juhasz (14.3) and Aubrey Griffin (12.1) are also in double figures.
  • Juhasz is averaging a team-high 10.0 rebounds per game, while Nika Muhl leads the team with 7.9 assists per game.

About America East:  The America East provides its member schools and their athletic programs a platform upon which student-athletes can achieve both collegiate and life success through the promotion and nurturing of athletic excellence, academic achievement and leadership, on and off the field.