WOMEN'S BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK
Vermont's second trip around the America East circuit continues on Saturday (Feb. 4) as the Catamounts welcome Hartford to Patrick Gymnasium for a 2 p.m. tilt. That game will be played in conjunction with UVM's Pack The House Challenge as well as the Catamounts' annual Rally Against Cancer series, presented by Otter Creek Awnings and Vermont Custom Closets. Details on both promotions follow.
 
Following Saturday's game, the Catamounts will head west to the Empire State and prepare for a Monday night (Feb. 6) matchup at Binghamton. That game is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
Both games will be streamed on ESPN3 as well as the WatchESPN app while also being broadcast live on WVMT 620-AM and Catamounts All-Access. Tyler Terens (pxp) and Bernie Cieplicki (color) will call Saturday's action on ESPN3; Tim Heiman (pxp) and Chelsea Loscal (color) will have the same duties at Binghamton. On WVMT, Jamie Scavotto will come off the bench for Terens for both games.
 
RELATED LINKS
Hartford: Video | Audio | Live Stats | Tickets
Binghamton: Video | Audio | Live Stats
Vermont Notes (.pdf) | Hartford Notes (.pdf) | Binghamton Notes (.pdf)
 
GAMEDAY PROMOTIONS–Saturday
Rally Against Cancer presented by Otter Creek Awnings and Vermont Custom Closets: The University of Vermont Athletic Department will continue to raise awareness for cancer research through its annual "Rally Against Cancer" initiative presented by Otter Creek Awnings and Vermont Custom Closets. Be sure to join the Catamounts in wearing pink to the game to show your support. UVM's game-worn jerseys are currently up for auction and can be bid on by clicking here. Bidding concludes 24 hours after tipoff, with proceeds being donated to the University of Vermont Cancer Center.
 
Pack The House: This game is also the annual Pack The House Challenge, part of a national effort in which conferences compete to build attendance at women's basketball games.
 
For more information on Rally Against Cancer and Pack The House, click here.
 
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CATAMOUNTS RECAP
Freshman Hanna Crymble led all scorers with 20 points to go with 13 rebounds for her fourth career double-double and Candice Wright had seven points between both overtime periods as Vermont eked out a 76-70 victory over Hartford on Saturday afternoon at Patrick Gymnasium.

As a team, UVM posted a 26-for-48 day (54.2 percent) shooting, holding Hartford to 30.9 percent on 25-for-81 from the field. The Hawks never led by more than four and UVM swelled a lead to as many as nine in a game that saw 10 ties and 12 lead changes.

Wright nearly sent Patrick Gymnasium into a frenzy as the first extra session wound to a close. Receiving an inbounds pass from Sydney Smith in front of her own bench, she put up a turnaround jumper that beat the buzzer and nearly went home, but trickled out at the last second.
 
SCOUTING HARTFORD
The Hawks (14-7, 5-3 AE) head into the weekend coming off of a bye, most recently falling at Albany 82-71 last Saturday (Jan. 28). Facing a third quarter deficit of as many as 31, Hartford strung together a 27-4 run from the beginning of the fourth quarter but Albany's Imani Tate then used five straight points to secure the win for the Great Danes.
 
Currently in third place in America East, Hartford continues to be paced offensively by senior Deanna Mayza (13.6 ppg) along with freshman Sierra DaCosta (13.1 ppg). Those figures are representative of the Hawks' conference-leading scoring offense (68.7 ppg), however the team on average surrenders 66.4 points nightly. Collectively, the group boasts a field goal percentage of 40.8, which also stands atop the league and will go up against Vermont's field goal percentage defense of 35.6 percent.
 
SCOUTING BINGHAMTON
The Bearcats head into Monday's game in a tie with UMBC for third place in America East. In Binghamton's most recent tilt, a 69-54 win over UMass Lowell on Saturday (Feb. 4), junior Imani Watkins sink 20 points and marking the second straight game that she has eclipsed that mark.Last Wednesday (Feb. 1) Binghamton and UMBC  both finished under 35 percent from the field en route to a 53-43 setback against the Retrievers.
 
Continuing to head up the offense is Watkins, averaging nearly 19 points per game, nearly double that of Alyssa James and Jasmine Sina (10.9 ppg and 10.7 ppg, respectively). On the boards, James has registered a team-high seven rebounds per game to go with an even two blocks. Watkins was America East's leading scorer at the time of UVM's last meeting with the Bearcats and now is being edged only by Albany's Imani Tate (20.1 ppg).

Defensively, the Bearcats as a team lead America East with 5.1 blocks per game. At the other end, the team also sits atop of the conference with 7.6 made 3-pointers per night.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
Despite falling in the last 11 matchups, Vermont maintains a 35-34 upper hand all-time against Hartford. UVM's last win came on Jan. 7, 2012 when Shanai Heber registered 14 points, six boards, five assists and five steals in a 57-50 comeback decision on the road in Connecticut.
 
The 1990s were a decade in which the Green and Gold had the Hawks' number, riding a 20-game win streak from Feb. 14, 1990 through Feb. 21, 1998. That run included a convincing 80-30 win for the Catamounts in the 1992 North Atlantic Conference Quarterfinals, during which UVM held its opponent to just 15-for-56 (26.9 percent) shooting. Vermont's Sheri Turnbull registered a double-double that day in Burlington with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
 
Vermont leads the all-time series with Binghamton by a 20-12 margin and has won five of the last nine matchups between the sides. The Bearcats, who entered Division I and the America East Conference in 2001-02, enjoyed a pair of victories in the regular season series last year after UVM grabbed a 72-66 win at home on Feb. 7, 2015. Then-freshman Sydney Smith had a team-high 21 points that afternoon to complement senior Niki Taylor's 11 rebounds.
 
LAST TIME AROUND
A January 7 tilt at Hartford marked Vermont's first road game of the America East slate as UVM fell 68-55 at Chase Arena. Sydney Smith had 16 points to lead all scorers but Hartford countered with four players in double-figures to pace the Hawks despite a very closely-contested first quarter that featured six lead changes.
 
In the Catamounts' first matchup with Binghamton on January 11, Binghamton's Imani Watkins turned a 27-point performance to go with nine rebounds. UVM outscored the Bearcats 21-18 in the fourth quarter and battled hard to narrow its deficit to seven, but a 17-3 run over roughly six minutes was not enough to overcome an overall 22 points in the paint for Binghamton.
 
CATS CLIMBING THE RECORD BOOK
As a junior, Sydney Smith has etched her name in the record book by virtue of sinking 150 career 3-point field goals. She entered the season 10th all-time with a total of 122 between her freshman and sophomore campaigns in Burlington and now sits fifth in the category. Former Catamount Kayla Burchill (2011-15) ranks fourth with 170 makes from downtown.
 
ALL THE 'WRIGHT' REASONS
In addition to Smith, sophomore Candice Wright continues to leave a mark in the record book, registering 81 blocks in less than two seasons and sitting ninth all-time in that category. Former Catamount Morgan Hall (1999-2003) is eighth with 83 swats.
 
As a freshman last year, Wright logged 50 blocks, setting a single-season program record. Although she is one of 11 other Catamounts to swat at least 74 attempts from the field, Wright holds the distinction of being the fastest Catamount in program history to reach that point, needing just 44 games to eclipse the mark.
 
CRYMBLE SNAGS AMERICA EAST WEEKLY HONOR
Following her combined 60 percent shooting performance against New Hampshire (Jan. 16) and at UMass Lowell (Jan. 19), freshman Hanna Crymble was named America East Rookie of the Week on Monday, Jan. 23.
 
She averaged 19.5 points over the week as Vermont fell just short in a comeback effort against UNH before registering 10 rebounds and a career-high 24 points in a win at UMass Lowell. Crymble drilled 10 of her points on the night during a 19-0 third quarter run by the Catamounts.
 
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
UVM heads to New Hampshire next week for a 7 p.m. game on Thursday, Feb. 9.
 
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