LOWELL, MASS – Vermont captured an early lead over UMass Lowell that they would never relinquish as they earned their 10th straight victory and improved their longest winning streak since 2002 on Saturday afternoon. With the victory Vermont improves to 18-6 overall and 10-2 in America East while UMass Lowell falls to 2-20 overall and 1-10 in conference play.
 
RELATED LINKS
Box Score | Box Score (.pdf)
 
COACH'S QUOTE
"I'm proud of the fight and grit that our team showed today," said Mayer Head Women's Basketball Coach Alisa Kresge. "Defensively, we were able to hold them to two single digit quarters and under 40 points for the game. Our bench came in and gave us a spark and some crucial points. We're back at it for another tough road game for Wednesday."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Vermont jumped out to an early 10-0 lead started by an early layup from Anna Olson and capped off by a Paula Gonzalez layup with 4:17 remaining.
• The River Hawks battled back over the final four plus minutes of the first quarter cutting the lead to just 13-6 heading into the second stanza. Led by four points from Ivory Finley and a layup from Mili Carerra.
• UMass Lowell expanded their run in the second quarter and following a Jaliena Sanchez jump shot with 7:44 remaining the River Hawks had closed the deficit to just 15-11.
• The Catamounts had the answer outscoring UMass Lowell 13-8 over the final seven plus minutes of the first half. Catherine Gilwee led the way with five points while Olson also added four for Vermont to take a 28-19 lead into the halftime.
• Delaney Richason knocked down a three on Vermont's opening possession of the second half to expand Vermont's lead to 31-19 with 9:24 remaining.
• Amaya Dowdy started the second half hot to help UMass Lowell answer back over next 6:16 to cut the score to 37-30 with 2:34 remaining following a layup from Dowdy. Over that 6:16 UMass Lowell outscored Vermont 11-6 led by nine points from Dowdy.
• Maria Myklebust answered for Vermont with a layup on the other end with 2:10 remaining to help spark a quick 5-0 run by Vermont to end the third quarter. Richason knocked down a three with 53 seconds left to lift Vermont to a 42-30 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
• Olson scored the first two baskets for Vermont in the fourth quarter on back-to-back layups to put the Catamounts up 46-32 with 7:50 remaining.
• The River Hawks answered with two free throws from Dowdy before Aryana Dizon made a layup and Emma Utterback converted an and-one layup with 6:46 left to put Vermont up 51-34, for their largest lead of the game at that point.
• Both teams battled over the final six plus minutes of the game with UVM holding a 7-5 advantage finished off by a Nikola Priede three with 1:09 remaining to give the game its final score of 58-39.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Olson recorded her second double-double of the season finishing with 12 points and 12 rebounds on 50% (5-10) shooting.
• Gilwee was the other Catamount in double figures finishing with 12 points, five assists and three steals on 50% (5-10) shooting from the floor and 50% (2-4) shooting from behind the arc.
• Richason added eight points, four rebounds and one block on 3-8 shooting in 28 minutes of action.
• The Catamounts bench outscored the River Hawks 16-5 led by five from Maria Myklebust and four from Aryana Dizon.
• Vermont shot 38.3% (23-60) in the game while holding UMass Lowell to just 23.6% (13-55).
• Vermont has won 10 straight games which is their longest regular season winning streak since 2002.
• With today'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 six three-pointers made by Vermont, M&T Bank will be donating $150 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 this afternoon's matchup with UMass Lowell the Catamounts will continue on the road against New Hampshire on Wednesday, February 15. The start time for that game is slotted for 7 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Ryan Zimmerman, the voice of Catamounts women's basketball, will be on the call on radio on WVMT.