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BURLINGTON, Vt. – Niki Taylor and
Kylie Butler combined for 28 points and 13 rebounds for Vermont, but the Maine Black Bears were able to pull out a 57-54 victory in America East women's basketball action at Patrick Gymnasium on Wednesday.
Maine improves to 20-6 overall and 12-1 in America East. Vermont falls to 5-21 and 2-12 in league play.
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Photo GalleryTaylor and Butler scored 14 points each to lead the Catamounts. Taylor also added nine rebounds and
Sydney Smith chipped in 10 points.
Sigi Koizar scored a game-high 16 points to pace the Black Bears. Mikaela Gustafsson added 12 points and Sophie Weckstrom chipped in 10 points, while Liz Wood grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
A 3-pointer by
Kayla Burchill at the 5:01 mark of the first half gave Vermont a 24-19 lead. Maine closed the half with six straight points, including a basket by Weckstrom with 18 seconds left in the stanza, to take a 25-24 lead at the break.
Vermont, which shot 55 percent from the floor in the second half against a Maine defense that ranks first in the league, trailed by eight at the 14:34 mark of the second half.
The Catamounts sliced the lead to two with 10:55 remaining on a basket by
Emilie Cloutier, but the Black Bears used a 9-3 run to push back out to a nine point advantage and led 54-44 with 3:23 remaining in the game.
The Catamounts rallied again, sparked by a 3-pointer from Smith, to score six straight points and climb back within four with just over two minutes left.
Chantel Charles made one of two free throws to push Maine's lead to five with 1:46 remaining. Vermont answered with back-to-back layups from Smith and Butler and trailed by one with 36 seconds left.
Courtney Anderson made two free throws after Vermont fouled following the basket by Butler to give the Black Bears at three-point cushion.
Vermont had two looks at a 3-pointer in the final 18 seconds but neither shot connected and the Black Bears were able to hold on for the victory.
The Catamounts have the weekend bye and return to action on Thursday, February 26 when they host UMass Lowell. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Patrick Gymnasium. Prior to the game UVM will honor its senior class of
Kayla Burchill,
Emilie Cloutier,
Niki Taylor and
Tierra Shumpert.
Tickets can be purachsed online at
UVMathletics.com, in person at the UVM Athletic Ticket Office in Patrick Gymnasium (M-F: 9 a.m.-5 p.m), via the phone at 802-656-4410, 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 can also be seen online for free in HD via
CatamounTV.com.