NEWARK, NJ – Vermont jumped out to an early double-digit lead and never looked back in its 65-32 victory over NJIT Saturday night at the NJIT Wellness and Events Center. With the victory the Catamounts earned their fifth consecutive win and improved to 13-6 and 5-2 in the America East while the Highlanders fell to 9-10 overall and 4-3 in conference play.
 
RELATED LINKS
Box Score | Box Score (.pdf)
 
COACH'S QUOTE
"I was very happy with the way we started the game on both sides of the ball," said Mayer Head Women's Basketball Coach Alisa Kresge. "We got strong contributions from multiple players, with a great assist to turnover ratio."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Anna Olson got the scoring started for the Catamounts on a layup on their opening possession and Vermont never looked back. Emma Utterback scored on back-to-back possessions with a jump shot and a layup to extend the Catamounts run to 6-0 over the first 1:30 of the game.
• Alejandra Zuniga converted a tough layup on the other end to trim the lead to 6-2 with 8:13 remaining in the first quarter, but that was the closest the Highlanders would ever get.
• Catherine Gilwee drilled a three on the other end to help spark a 10-0 lead that lasted until the 1:42 mark of the first quarter when Trinity Williams knocked down a pair of free throws for NJIT to make the score 16-4. The Catamounts went 4-7 from the field and were led by four points from Olson and three from Gilwee during the run.
• After the two free-throws from NJIT Vermont answered with a lengthy run that lasted from 1:27 left in the first quarter until halftime outscoring the Highlanders 25-6 in a little over 13 minutes of action. During their run Vermont forced six turnovers and held NJIT to just 3-18 shooting while shooting 11-17 themselves led by eight points from Delaney Richason and four from Gilwee, Utterback and Maria Myklebust.
• The Highlanders came out in the third determined to cut into the lead going on a quick 5-0 spurt in the first minute and a half to cut the lead to 41-15. However, Vermont again countered with an 11-2 run of their own over the next 5:30 of play to extend their lead to 52-17 with 1:48 remaining in the third quarter. Richason had four points on the run while Aryana Dizon went 3-6 from the charity stripe to add three points for the Catamounts.
• NJIT countered with another quick 5-0 run before first year Nikola Priede scored her first collegiate points on a layup with two seconds left to send Vermont into the final stanza up 54-22.
• The fourth quarter proved to be much of the same story with Vermont jumping out to a 10-3 advantage over the first 7:09 of the quarter to take a 64-25 lead, their largest, with 2:51 remaining in the game. During the run Olson scored four and Vermont held NJIT to just 1-9 from the floor.
• NJIT did not go down without fighting outscoring UVM 7-1 over the final 2:51 of the game and cutting the deficit to its final score of 65-32.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• The Catamounts had arguably their best defensive game of the season holding NJIT to a season-low 32 points on 19.3 percent shooting from the field and 15.4 percent from three. Vermont meanwhile shot 45.0 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from three.
• Vermont had 10 different players score and seven who scored five points or more. Priede registered her first collegiate points finishing with four points, two blocks and four rebounds.
• Anna Olson led all scorers with 14 points on a perfect 7-7 shooting from the floor in just 21 minutes of action.
• Delaney Richason finished with 10 points and a career-high six blocks.
• Vermont led wire-to-wire and outrebounded NJIT 45-36 while also winning the turnover battle with just seven to the Highlanders 14.
• The Catamounts largest lead of the game was 64-25 with 2:51 remaining in the game.
• With this game, coach Kresge is now tied for fourth all-time in program history for games coached.
• With tonight's win, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group will donate $100 to King Street Youth Center as part of the Cats Win, Community Wins initiative. Since its inauguration in 2017, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group has donated over $80,000 to local non-profits through the Cats Win, Community Wins initiative.  
• With the four three pointer made by Vermont M&T Bank will be donating $100 to the Vermont Foodbank. With a community bank approach, M&T Bank helps people reach their personal and business goals with banking, mortgage, loan and investment services.

 
WHAT'S NEXT 
Following Saturday's matchup with NJIT, the Catamounts will return to Patrick for another America East clash with Binghamton on Wednesday, January 25. The start time for that game is scheduled for 6 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Ryan Zimmerman, the voice of Catamounts women's basketball, will be on the radio call on WVMT.
 
NATIONAL GIRLS AND WOMEN IN SPORTS DAY
The University of Vermont Women's Basketball team will celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day powered by Vermont Mutual on Saturday, February 4th during their game against UAlbany at 12 P.M. On February 4th, girls from the local community with an interest in sports and being involved in this celebration will have the opportunity to become members of the UVM Athletic Staff for the day. Girls between fourth and eighth grade can apply to a wide variety of positions including: Public Address Announcer, Marketing Assistant, Ticket Staff, and many more! Participants will be able to work in the position for one half of the game, the other half they will be able to watch the game with their family. To apply, please visit https://uvmathletics.com/sb_output.aspx?form=126