FINAL SCORE: Milwaukee 68, Vermont 44
BURLINGTON, Vt. – Vermont battled back from an early deficit but could not stop Milwaukee's high-powered offense in a 68-44 setback in the TD Bank Classic title game on Saturday night at Patrick Gymnasium.
 
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The Catamounts drop to 2-4 on the season with the title game loss while Milwaukee improves to 4-1 overall.
 
Vermont used a balanced scoring attack as eight different players recorded a point. Hanna Crymble scored a team-high 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting and made all three trips to the line. Kylie Butler contributed 10 points for UVM and Sydney Smith added seven points for the Cats on 3-of-4 shooting, including one from long distance. Crymble and Smith were also honored with TD Bank Classic All-Tournament Team selections.
 
Milwaukee had a trio of double-figure outings from Lizzie Odegard, Jenny Lindner and Steph Kostowicz. Odegard posted a game-high 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds off the glass. Linder struggled from the floor on 3-of-11 shooting but hit all six attempts from the foul line to follow with 12 points. Kostowicz recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 12 rebounds to compliment her 10 points.
 
The Panthers opened the title game with a three-pointer from Alexis Lindsrom but UVM answered with five quick points from Smith. Milwaukee, which owns the 17th-highest scoring offense in the country, controlled the tempo for the rest of the period by manufacturing a 15-0 run in the final 5:15 and held an 18-5 lead after one period of play.
 
UVM cranked up the pressure in the second quarter by opening the period on a 7-2 run and trimmed the deficit down to 22-12. The Catamounts continued to knock down timely jumpers but could not cut the Milwaukee lead to single digits.  
 
The Catamounts' defense stepped up with three steals in the third quarter and held UWM to only 3-of-13 shooting, but Milwaukee converted 13-of-14 attempts at the charity stripe to prevent Vermont from gaining any ground.
 
In the fourth quarter, UVM had a solid period with 14 points on but could not generate enough momentum for a comeback as the Panthers claimed the TD Bank Classic crown.
 
Vermont wraps up a three-game home stand on Wednesday (Nov. 30) with a visit from New England rival Holy Cross. Action gets underway at 7 p.m. on the hardwood of Patrick Gymnasium.