FINAL SCORE: Maine 62, Vermont 41
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Sydney Smith surpassed the 500-point milestone as a Catamount, as Vermont fell to the Maine Black Bears 62-41 at Patrick Gym on Wednesday evening in its conference home opener. UVM drops to 5-10 (0-2) on the season, while Maine improves to 10-6 (1-0).
 
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"Maine is an experienced team and they did a good job of keeping us out of our offensive rhythm tonight," said head coach Lori Gear McBride. "They also dominated the glass and limited second-chance opportunities."
 
Smith and Andreana Thomas recorded double-figure scoring for Vermont, shooting a combined 11-for-22. Smith totaled 15 points with four 3-pointers and pushed her scoring average at home to 17.5 points per game. Thomas added 14 points and four rebounds and, and  Gracia Hutson pulled down a team-best 10 rebounds, including eight defensive boards.
 
Sigi Koizar posted a double-double to lead the Black Bears as she recorded 20 points with a game-high 13 rebounds. Mikaela Gustafsson and Bella Swan scored 15 points and 12 points respectively for Maine.
 
The Black Bears won the tip and took an early lead, but Smith and Thomas strung together a 13-4 UVM run, shooting 4-for-5 from the field and connecting on a pair of triples to give Vermont a 16-15 edge. Back-to-back pull up jumpers by Koizar put Maine ahead 17-16 after 10 minutes.
 
The Black Bears created a 12-2 run of their own while holding the Catamounts to 2-for-10 from the field in the second quarter. Koizar paced all scoreres in the first half as she chipped in 12 points and pulled down six rebounds.
 
Maine began to pull away in the third period and extended its lead as high as 16 at the 1:13 mark. Smith knocked down two more three-balls to chip away at the Black Bear lead, but that was as close as the Catamounts would get. Thomas added a buzzer-beating layup to end the third as Vermont trailed 47-34 with 10 minutes left to play.
 
Two successful trips down the floor for Vermont, including a three from Lauren Handy halted a 10-5 Maine run in the fourth quarter, but Maine closed out the conference win.
 
"I thought we played well defensively at times and had good offensive performances from Syndey (Smith) and Dre (Thomas), but need more diversity offensively in order to be successful," noted McBride.

Vermont heads to Albany (10-3) on Saturday (Jan. 9) at 2 p.m. Radio coverage begins 20 minutes prior to tip-off at 1:40 p.m. on WVMT 620-AM and SportsJuice.com with Jamie Scavatto calling the action. All conference games can also be viewed for free via AmericaEast.tv.