FINAL SCORE: Bryant 63, Vermont 57
BURLINGTON, Vt. –
Sydney Smith and
Kristina White each registered 12 points but a fourth quarter comeback effort fell just short as the Vermont women's basketball team fell to Bryant by a 63-57 score on Friday night at Patrick Gymnasium.
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Bryant moves to 1-0 following the season-opening win, while the setback puts Vermont at 0-1.
UVM jumped out to an early 4-0 lead over Bryant after just over two scoreless minutes to open the contest.
Hanna Crymble took an inside feed from
Hayley Robertson and drove to the basket for a layup, putting the Catamounts on the board. Just under a minute later, Crymble set up
Candice Wright for a bucket.
Vermont also had a strong defensive performance in the opening period, holding Bryant scoreless from the field on its first 14 shots and posting three blocks.
Hot shooting from beyond the arc paced UVM throughout the second quarter. Despite trailing at halftime by a 28-23 margin, the Catamounts buried four of five 3-pointers including a pair from
Kristina White as part of a 6-2 run in the quarter's first several minutes. Bryant responded however, stringing together an 8-0 sequence of its own on points from Alex Klein (6) and Sydney Holloway (2).
Momentum swung between both teams throughout the second half, with the Catamounts ultimately getting back within one of Bryant in the third quarter. The sequence was highlighted by a 3-point play involving Crymble at the 6:25 mark. Smith fed the freshman in the paint, where she sank a layup while being fouled and made the resulting free throw. Shortly thereafter, Robertson moved the score to just 36-35 in Bryant's favor after driving for a layup.
Faced with a nine-point deficit early in the final quarter, UVM continued to chip away but the Bulldogs used seven points from Klein to seal the win. Graduate transfer
Kallie Banker led the charge for the Catamounts in the final 10 minutes recording all of her seven points, including a 3-point play with 4:30 to go. Crymble then repeated the sequence with 1:38 on the clock, but Bryant made five from the charity stripe in the final minute to pull away for good.
The Bulldogs were paced offensively by Klein, who finished with 25 points and six rebounds.
UVM assisted on 13 of its 21 baskets on the night and finished with six blocks.
Vermont is back in action on Sunday (Nov. 13) as the team plays host to Dartmouth at Patrick Gymnasium. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m., with fans of all ages encouraged to meet the Catamounts following the game for autographs and Poster Day presented by The UPS Store of South Burlington. Additionally, all young fans wearing a basketball jersey to the game will receive free admission in celebration of Youth Day.