WOMEN'S BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK
Vermont women's basketball is back at Patrick Gymnasium on Wednesday night (Feb. 15) for its penultimate regular season home game, hosting the River Hawks of UMass Lowell in a 7 p.m. game.
 
Alastair Ingram (PxP) and Bernie Cieplicki (color) will call the game on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app, while Tyler Terens will oversee the play-by-play on WVMT 620-AM as well as Catamounts All-Access. Live stats will be accessible through SIDEARM Stats.
 
RELATED LINKS
Video | Audio | Live Stats | Tickets
Vermont Notes (.pdf) | UMass Lowell Notes (.pdf)
 
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CATAMOUNTS RECAP
Kristina White finished with 12 points and came down with seven boards, but UMBC's Taylor McCarley countered with a double-double (14 points, 12 assists) as the Retrievers erased a 13-point deficit to take home a 64-52 decision over Vermont on Sunday (Feb. 12). Kylie Butler had a team-high eight rebounds for UVM in the setback.
 
Hot shooting was key for the Catamounts in building a lead of as many as 13 in the first quarter. After the teams traded 3-pointers in the first two minutes, Vermont strung together a 13-0 run on support from White (3), Butler (3) and Hanna Crymble (7). By period's end, UVM had worked itself to an 18-9 advantage.
 
SCOUTING UMASS LOWELL
Still in its Division I infancy, UMass Lowell is currently in their final transition year to the highest level of NCAA competition. The River Hawks (3-23, 0-13 AE) have run into some struggles of late, having fallen in their last 13 games to begin the America East schedule.
 
The squad was most recently on the court on Sunday (Feb. 12), hosting Hartford in an 84-64 setback. Kayla Gibbs finished the day with a team-high 14 points, including 10 in a strong first half showing, but Hartford countered with a near double-double for Janelle Harrison (27 pts, 8 reb).
 
Offensively, look for Gibbs to make an impact as she averages 12.7 points per game. Tyshay Britten has amassed 15 blocks on the season to lead the team, while Gibbs also grabs right around one steal per night.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
Vermont has met the River Hawks only seven times, with each contest coming since the 2013-14 season when UMass Lowell elevated to the NCAA Division I ranks and joined the America East Conference.
 
Down in Massachusetts on January 19, the Catamounts used a 19-0 run in the third quarter to seal a 61-46 victory. The Green and Gold also notched a 59-51 decision last season in Lowell, helped in part by Kylie Atwood's 12 points and Sydney Smith's six boards. UVM nearly realized a sweep of the River Hawks last season, but Hayley Robertson's double-double (20 pts, 10 reb) on Feb. 8, 2016 was answered with a late bucket by Asia Mitchell-Owens to give UMass Lowell a 68-66 victory at Patrick Gymnasium.
 
Behind a double-double performance (18 pts, 12 reb) from then-freshman Kylie Butler, UVM pocketed a 95-82 win in the inaugural iteration of the series on Dec. 1, 2013.
 
LAST TIME AROUND
Freshman Hanna Crymble led all scorers with 24 points and Vermont added a season-high 20 more from junior Sydney Smith en route to a 61-46 win over UMass Lowell on January 19 at the Costello Athletic Center.
 
The run of the night came in the third quarter as UVM held UMass Lowell without a field goal for nearly 11 minutes, overlapping into the fourth quarter. After Markayla Sherman hit from downtown with 7:24 left in the third, the Catamounts proceeded to net 19 straight points to battle back from a deficit and swell its lead to 46-35. The River Hawks finally ended the stretch with a pair from the charity stripe in the final minute of the third period.
 
ALL THE 'WRIGHT' REASONS
Sophomore Candice Wright continues to leave a mark in the record book. The native of Cambridge, Ontario has registered 86 blocks in less than two seasons and sits eighth all-time in program history. Former Catamount Karena Zornow (1995-99) is seventh with 88 blocks.
 
Wright holds the distinction of being the fastest in program history to reach that mark. Of the top-7 blockers all-time, none had more than 47 through their their sophomore campaign (Karalyn Church through the 1997-98 season). As a freshman last year, Wright logged 50 blocks, setting a single-season program record. If she continues at her current pace of 1.7 per game, she will break Katie McNamara's (2001-05) all-time program record of 102 career blocks no later than her junior campaign.

I'D LIKE TO THANK THE ACADEMY
This past Monday (Feb. 13), freshman Hanna Crymble took home her second consecutive America East Rookie of the Week award and third on the season. She started all three games on the week (has started all 25 on season) and averaged 12.3 points in the span. In spite of a setback at Binghamton, she turned in 18 points on 7-of-12 (58 percent) from the field.
 
Crymble boasts four double-doubles on the season and is the first Catamount rookie to do so since Kylie Butler in 2013-14.
 
GOOD THINGS COME IN THREE'S
In Vermont's January 4 win over Maine, UVM allowed just three second quarter points, representing a tie for the fewest allowed by the team in a single 10-minute period. In a Feb. 28, 2016 victory over Stony Brook, UVM surrendered just three points in the fourth quarter in preserving a 44-37 victory over the Seawolves at Patrick Gymnasium.
 
WELCOME TO VERMONT, COACH
A 1997 graduate of West Chester University in Pennsylvania, head coach Chris Day arrives in Vermont following a three-year stint as an assistant at the University of Pennsylvania. During his time at Penn, the Quakers punched two tickets to the NCAA Tournament and captured two Ivy League titles. The squad amassed 67 wins during his tenure, including a remarkable 36-6 mark in conference action.
 
The eighth head coach in UVM history, Day also spent time in coaching capacities at Indiana (2012-13), Saint Joseph's (2005-12) and La Salle (2004-05). He served a three-year stint (2000-03) as head coach at Division III Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania, helping Widener make its first postseason appearance in 20 years.
 
NEXT UP
Vermont will enjoy eight days to prepare for its Senior Night matchup with Albany, a Thursday, Feb. 23 matchup which tips at 7 p.m. from Patrick Gymnasium.
 
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