BOSTON – After capturing the program’s second straight conference title and third in the past four seasons, Vermont secured a No. 14 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will battle No. 3 Louisville on Saturday. Binghamton, NJIT and UMBC will also see postseason action in the WNIT, as announced on Sunday night.
Vermont is 27-7 this season and earned the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament downing No. 2 Maine 61-43 as the top seed in the Air Force Reserve #AEPlayoffs. This marks the team’s third conference championship in the past four seasons and second straight overall.
In addition to the Catamounts, Binghamton, NJIT and UMBC were selected to the WNIT. Binghamton finished the year 19-12 after falling 60-56 to Maine in the conference semifinals. UMBC went 16-14 and lost to eventual champion Vermont in the semifinals, 68-65 in double overtime. NJIT, meanwhile is 18-12 after dropping a 66-65 quarterfinal contest to UMBC.
Last year as a No. 15 seed, Vermont put a scare into No. 2 NC State, as they led 33-29 late in the second quarter and trailed just 35-33 at the half. The Wolfpack outscored the Catamounts by 18 in the second half to earn a 75-55 win.
Vermont currently ranked fourth in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 51.6 points a game and is third in opponent 3-point percentage at 25.0 percent. The Catamounts are also second in the nation, committing just 10.6 turnovers per game. The team is led by Tournament MOP Nikola Priede who is averaging 17.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. Keira Hanson is second on the team, averaging 14.1 points per game with a team-best 63 three-point field goals.
Louisville is 27-7 this season and went 15-3 in the ACC this season. The Cardinals are coming off a 70-65 overtime defeat at the hands of Duke last Sunday. They are averaging 79.9 points per game this season while holding teams to 60.8 points per contest. Louisville doesn’t have any player averaging over 12.0 points per game but seven averaging at least 8.0 points per game. Tajianna Roberts leads the team in scoring at 11.4 points per game, while Imari Berry is second at 11.2 points per game.
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