Women's Basketball

Green Mountain Greatness! Vermont Wins Jersey Mike’s Women's #AEPlayoffs Championship

ALBANY, N.Y. – For the eighth time in program history and the second time in the last three years, Vermont is the America East women’s basketball champion! The second-seeded Catamounts knocked off top-seeded UAlbany, 62-55, on the road on Friday night to claim the conference crown.

The turning point in the game came in the third quarter when Vermont outscored the Great Danes, 13-4, and held them scoreless for the final 6:27 of the frame.

Nikola Priede was named the Most Outstanding Player of the playoffs after registering game highs of 20 points and nine rebounds. For the tournament, she averaged 16.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game.

Priede was joined on the All-Championship team by her teammate, Keira Hanson, UAlbany’s Kayla Cooper and Kacy Donovan and Maine’s Asta Blauenfeldt.

Vermont’s Anna Olson was named the women’s basketball Elite 18 award honoree for having the highest GP among the championship game participants. The graduate student finished her undergraduate education with a 3.89 degree in Biology.

The Catamounts will learn their postseason fate during the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday at 8 p.m. on ESPN.


How it Happened
  • UAlbany jumped out to a 5-2 lead, but Vermont answered with a triple as the teams went back-and-forth through the opening ten minutes. Nikola Priede made a layup late for a 14-13 advantage.
  • The Great Danes grabbed a 20-18 lead midway through the second quarter on a nice Jessica Tomasetti layup, but four straight by the Catamounts pulled it even once again. Neither team could gain an edge as the score was tied 28-28 at the half.
  • The back and forth continued in the third quarter until Anna Olson pushed Vermont’s advantage to five, the largest advantage for any team at that point, on a lefty layup with 4:54 left in the period to give Vermont a 37-32 lead.
  • The Catamounts extended their advantage to nine before the end of the quarter and led 41-32. Vermont held the Great Danes to just four points in the frame.
  • UAlbany started the period on 14-5 run, pulling withing 50-46 on a Meghan Huerter jumper with 4:08 left. Keira Hanson answered with a triple 20 seconds later and Anna Olson added a layup for a nine-point lead. The Catamounts didn’t let their lead slip lower than six, holding on for the 62-55 win.
 
Inside the Numbers
  • The game featured nine ties and 14 lead changes, most of those in the first half.
  • UAlbany outshot Vermont 52 percent to 46 percent but Vermont won the rebound battle, 26-23, and forced 14 Great Dane turnovers. The Catamounts also went 15-for-20 from the charity stripe.
  • Olson was in double figures with 11 points, six rebounds and two assists while Catherine Gilwee added 10 points.
  • Kayla Cooper had 18 points, eight rebounds and three assists, while Jessica Tomasetti had 14 points, seven rebounds and two assists.
 
The History
  • Vermont has moved into second place in conference history with eight titles, trailing just Maine which has ten league titles.
  • The Catamounts are now 8-1 in the #AEPlayoffs over the last three seasons.
 
ABOUT AMERICA EAST 
Founded in 1979, the America East Conference is an elite NCAA Division I athletic conference that fosters an environment for student-athletes to become champions. Comprised of academically renowned, like-minded member institutions located in the Northeast region of the United States, America East is committed to broad-based excellence and progressive in its approach to supporting its more than 3,500 student-athletes across 18 sponsored sports. For more information, visit www.AmericaEast.com and follow the America East Conference its social media channels, @AmericaEast.  
  
- America East Conference – Where Champions Rise -