SMITHFIELD, RI – The Catamounts stormed back in the second half and Maria Myklebust knocked down a late three to force overtime and stun Bryant 68-67 at the Chace Athletic Center on Wednesday night. With the win Vermont improves to 9-6 and 1-2 in America East play while the Bulldogs fall to 5-10 and 0-3 in conference play.
 
RELATED LINKS
Box Score | Box Score (.pdf)
 
COACH'S QUOTE
"Proud of the toughness and resiliency we had tonight," said Mayer Head Women's Basketball Coach Alisa Kresge. "We were able to fight through adversity and get a gritty road win."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Bella Vito started the scoring with an early layup to put Vermont up 2-0, but Kemari Reynolds immediately answered at the other end for Bryant, to knot the score up at 2-2 with 7:41 remaining in the first quarter.
• From there, both teams traded blows struggling to find the basket with the Bulldogs outscoring Vermont 7-6 over the final seven plus minutes of the quarter to carry a 9-8 lead into the second stanza.
• Bryant was strong on both ends to start the second quarter going on a 12-0 run, led by four points from Mariona Planes Fortuny and three points from Reynolds, to take a 21-8 lead with 4:17 remaining in the quarter.
• After a turnover, Catherine Gilwee drained a three to stabilize the Catamounts cutting the deficit to 21-11. Her three helped spark UVM to outscore Bryant 10-6 over the final 4:17 of the quarter and cut the lead to just 27-18 heading into halftime.
• After the halftime break, both teams went back-and-forth with Bryant extending their lead to 36-25 with 4:18 remaining after a Lucie Castagne three pointer. However, Vermont was able to go on a 9-2 spurt over the next three minutes to cut the score to just 38-34.
• The Bulldogs again had an answer for the Catamounts ending the final 1:07 of the third quarter on a 5-2 run to extend their lead to 43-36 heading into the final stanza.
• Vermont came out strong to start the fourth quarter responding to Bryant with an 11-5 run of their own over the first 5:06 of the quarter to cut the lead to just one, 48-47, after an Emma Utterback layup with 4:54 remaining.
• The two teams traded blows over the next four minutes with the Bulldogs extending their lead to 57-51 with only 33 seconds remaining. Anna Olson continued her career night knocking down two free throws with 28 seconds remaining to trim the deficit to 57-53 and Maria Myklebust took care of the rest.
• After a Bryant missed three, Myklebust converted on a layup on the other end and after the Bulldogs went 1-2 from the charity stripe, she performed her heroics knocking down a right-side three with five seconds left to tie the game 58-58 and send it to overtime.
• In the first two-plus minutes of the extra frame neither team were able to gain any separation and after an Utterback jumper with 2:31 remaining the score was knotted at 64.
• The Bulldogs went 1-2 from the free throw line and the Catamounts answered with back-to-back layups from Utterback and Olson to put their lead at 68-65 with 10 seconds remaining.
• Bryant put a scare into Vermont with a Marta Neira Martinez layup with two seconds remaining, but the Catamounts were able to hold on to secure a 68-67 victory on the road.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Olson delivered a career-high 15 rebounds in a double-double to go along with 20 points and four blocks. She was also 10-13 from the free throw line.
• Utterback tied Olson with a game-high 20 points on 9-19 shooting. This is her third 20 point game of the season and her 12th game in double figures.
• Gilwee registered 10 points with three assists and one rebound.
• Myklebust scored 10 points off the bench to go with six rebounds, including a three with 5.5 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game to overtime.
• Myklebust has scored 10 or more points in five games this season, including all three America East games. The Catamounts are 3-2 when she scores in double figures.
• 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.  

 
WHAT'S NEXT
Following tonight's matchup the Catamounts will host New Hampshire at Patrick Gym on Saturday, January 7. The start time for that game is scheduled for 1 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN3. Ryan Zimmerman, the voice of Catamount women's basketball, will be on the call on the radio on WVMT.
 
WOMEN'S HOCKEY YOUTH DAY
On Saturday, the Vermont women's hockey team will have their Youth Day presented by Healthy Living, where there will be lawn games, dress like a Catamount station, arts and crafts, and small giveaways from Healthy Living. Free admission to the women's hockey game for all kids 12 and younger and after the game, there will be a post-game skate with the cats. Free admission to everyone who presents their ticket from the women's basketball game earlier in the day.