WOMEN'S BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK
Vermont (16-10, 10-5) is back in action this afternoon as they travel to face UMBC (3-18, 2-9) in America East action at 3:30 p.m. The action will air live on ESPN3. Fans can also listen live with Cooper Boardman on the call on AM 620 WVMT.
RELATED LINKS
Listen Live | Live Stats | Live Video (ESPN3)
GAME WORN JERSEY AUCTION CLOSES WEDNESDAY AT 6 PM
On Wednesday, the women's basketball team wore special edition Rally Against Cancer jerseys. The jerseys are accented with lavender to represent the ongoing fight against all cancers. The jersey auction will close next Wednesday at 6 p.m. Bid now at uvmathletics.com/auctions.
THREE STARTERS IN DOUBLE FIGURES
Three of Vermont's four starters who have started every game this season –
Emma Utterback (12.5 PPG),
Josie Larkins (11.3 PPG) and
Anna Olson (12.0 PPG) are leading the Catamounts all scoring in double figures. All three of them play an average of 29.9 minutes or more per game. One of the three of them has led UVM in scoring in 21 of its 24 games this season and each of the last nine games.
RICHASON A BIG INDICATOR FOR SUCCESS
UVM is now 13-1 this season when junior forward
Delaney Richason reaches double figures in scoring. On Wednesday, Richason had 15 points for UVM in their 61-58 win.
LARKINS HAVING A CAREER-YEAR FROM DOWNTOWN
Larkins is 21st in the NCAA with 64 made three-pointers this season. She is shooting 39.3 percent from downtown which is 51st in the country. She has made 224 career three-pointers which ranks second all-time at UVM. In games where Larkins hits three or more three-pointers in a game UVM is 8-2 this season.
UTTERBACK LEADING THE OFFENSE
Junior guard
Emma Utterback is second in America East this season with 97 assists. She averages 3.7 per game. Her assist-to-turnover ratio is 1.87 this season which ranks 69th in the NCAA.
ALL STARTS ON THE DEFENSIVE END
UVM is second in America East and 12th in the NCAA on the defensive end this season giving up 54.0 points per game. In the Catamounts 16 wins this year they've given up just 47.8 points per game. Vermont is also second in America East averaging 4.1 blocked shots per game. UVM forward
Anna Olson is second in the league averaging 1.3 blocks per game. The Catamounts blocked a season-high 13 shots Wednesday evening against UNH.
Sarah Wells set a new career-high with five blocked shots against the Wildcats.
CATAMOUNTS BACK TO THEIR WINNING WAYS
With three games left in the regular season Vermont has reached 16 regular season wins for the first time since the 2009-10 campaign. UVM also has 10 conference wins which is their best conference mark since the same season. UVM hasn't been above .500 in a full conference season since the 2009-10 campaign either.
SCOUTING UMBC
Playing without its leading scorer
Janee'a Summers, the UMBC Women's Basketball team battled valiantly, but fell at first-place Stony Brook, 66-56. Graduate Student
Onome-Juliet Esadah picked up her sixth double-double of the season, finishing with 12 points and 11 assists. UMBC leading scorer
Janee'a Summers missed the contest with a non-Covid related illness.
UMBC is 0-7 this season on its home court against Division I teams. Vermont has won six of the last seven meetings in the series and now leads the all-time series 21-19. Last season the Catamounts swept UMBC in a two-game series played at UAlbany Jan. 3-4, 2021. Vermont won those games by scores of 73-56 and 65-54. Those two games were UVM and UMBC's final games before discontinuing their seasons due to COVID-19.
On January 15 of this year the Catamounts defeated UMBC 69-36. Larkins became the 23rd Catamount in program history to reach 1,000 career points with a pair of free throws in that contest.
SENIOR NIGHT NEXT WEDNESDAY
Next Wednesday the Catamounts will host Binghamton in their final regular season home game. UVM and the Bearcats will tip off at 6 p.m. It will be Senior Night presented by the UVM Alumni Association and UVM will honor its seniors in a pregame ceremony.
Rise to the Top is the presenting sponsor of Vermont women's basketball
