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GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Vermont Catamounts battled back from a 19-point deficit at the half to slice Wisconsin-Green Bay's lead to five in the second stanza, but the Phoenix surged ahead in the final minutes of the game to post a 60-40 victory at the Kress Events Center in non-conference women's basketball action on Saturday.
Wisconsin-Green Bay, the No. 2 ranked team in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll, moved to 9-2 overall, while Vermont fell to 3-8.
"I was proud of the way we regrouped and changed our mentality at halftime. Our defense was disciplined and we picked up the tempo on offense, which allowed us to chip away at their lead in the second half. Playing an extremely physical team like Wisconsin-Green Bay will help us in conference play," said Vermont head coach
Lori Gear McBride.
A jumper by
Jordan Eisler tied the game at 12 at the 8:47 mark of the first half. UWGB's Megan Lukan hit a basket on the next possession for the Phoenix to ignite a 23-4 run to close the half and give Wisconsin-Green Bay a 35-16 lead at the break.
Vermont made some adjustments at the half and limited UWGB to 2-for-20 shooting to start the second stanza. The Catamounts ramped up the defense and put together a 13-2 run to climb back within five, 41-36, with 9:17 left in the game. However, the Phoenix answered with another run, 19-4, to close the game and earn their fourth straight game.
Kylie Butler reached double figures for the fourth straight game with a team-high 14 points to lead Vermont. She also added eight rebounds.
Niki Taylor collected a game-high 10 boards and
Sydney Smith chipped in seven points, eight rebounds and four blocks for the Catamounts.
Sam Terry netted a season-high 17 points off the bench to lead all scorers for Wisconsin-Green Bay. Allie LeClaire added 13 points and Tesha Buck chipped in 10 points and eight rebounds.
Vermont breaks for the holiday and will be back in action on December 30, hosting Cornell in the final home game of 2014. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and tickets can be purchased online at
UVMathletics.com or in person one hour before tipoff in the Patrick Gymnasium Lobby.
The game can be heard on WVMT-620 AM (online:
SportsJuice.com) with Kevin Fitzgerald calling the action. The game will also be streamed online for free in HD via
CatamounTV.com.