FINAL SCORE: Vermont 61, Dartmouth 59 

BURLINGTON, Vt. – 25 points in the fourth quarter helped propel Vermont (11-4, 0-0 AE) over Dartmouth (8-4, 0-0 IVY) 61-59 on Sunday evening from Patrick Gymnasium during the Catamounts' final non-conference matchup of the regular season. With the win, Mayer Women's Basketball Head Coach Alisa Kresge collected her 129th win at the helm of UVM Women's Basketball, becoming the all-time wins leader in program history.   

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COACH'S QUOTE  

"I think we started off pretty solid. We finished really solid, but in between, for some reason, we took the foot off the gas pedal mentality," said Mayer Women's Basketball Head Coach Alisa Kresge. "And then teams turn up the heat, and it's been a consistent issue for us, an achilles heel, if you will. We can't allow this to happen in every game. Dartmouth is playing excellent right now, and we're walking into a lot of tough opponents ahead."  

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• Dartmouth's Cate MacDonald got the scoring started with a layup after the opening two minutes went without a single bucket, but it was the Catamounts that responded with a 7-4 scoring run led by four points from Nikola Priede and a corner three-pointer from Emma Haan, seeing Vermont take a one point advantage, 7-6, into the first media timeout with 2:29 remaining in the opening frame.  

• Coming out of the timeout, Priede executed on her third basket of the game, igniting the Catamounts' offense to finish the first quarter on a 7-1 scoring run, capped off by Jadyn Weltz swishing a three-pointer and a floater with just two seconds left on the clock as UVM gained a 14-7 lead heading into the second frame.  

• Vermont struggled throughout the first 6:32 of the second quarter, conceding a 12-0 scoring run to the Big Green led by Clare Meyer and Alexandra Eldredge who each scored five points in the run. Dartmouth gained a 19-14 advantage with 3:28 remaining before halftime.  

• The Catamounts nearly found themselves down by double digits with 2:20 remaining in the second frame, but UVM battled back to end the first half, orchestrating a 6-0 scoring run led by Priede with four points and a buzzer beater mid-range jump shot by Keira Hanson to bring Vermont within three, 23-20, heading into halftime.  

• Hanson got scoring started in the third quarter, drilling her first three-pointer of the game in front of the Catamount bench, knotting the score at 23-23 just 17 seconds into the new frame.  

• Both teams went back-and-forth trading baskets until the third quarter media timeout with 4:44 remaining on the clock, seeing UVM narrowly edge out Dartmouth with a 9-8 scoring run led by Priede with four points and Hanson drilling her second three-pointer of the game, holding onto a 32-31 overall advantage over halfway through the third quarter. Haan also added her second basket of the game during the Catamount run.  

• A 9-2 scoring run by Dartmouth forced UVM to take a timeout and re-group with 1:25 left in the third frame as the Big Green regained the lead, 40-34. Eldredge led the offensive surge for Dartmouth, scoring five points in the process.  

• Malia Lenz collected her first basket of the game with 1:04 left in the third quarter after getting fed from Hanson in the paint, but it was Dartmouth that entered the final quarter with a six-point advantage, 42-36.  

• Priede opened scoring in the fourth quarter making her ninth basket of the contest, using a turnaround jump shot to create a look, followed by Lenz swishing a three-pointer from the corner to bring Vermont within one point, 42-41, with 9:13 of regulation remaining.  

• For the next three minutes, only free-throws were made in the game including four from Weltz, seeing the Catamounts stay within striking distance being down 48-45 with just over five minutes of gametime remaining.  

• Zeynep Ozel took over throughout the next minute and a half, making a layup and a three-pointer to bring Dartmouth to a 53-47 advantage with 4:35 left on the clock. Weltz scored a driving layup in between Ozel's baskets to maintain the Vermont pressure.   

• With 3:25 of regulation remaining, the Catamounts began the comeback starting with Hanson drilling a midrange jump shot after being assisted by Priede, followed by Weltz making a jumper of her own on the very next possession to bring Vermont within two, 53-51, with just under three minutes of gametime remaining.  

• UVM regained the lead with 2:02 on the clock when Hanson found Lenz in the corner, drilling a three-pointer in front of the Vermont bench, sending Patrick Gymnasium into pandemonium as the Catamounts took a 54-53 lead.  

• A pair of free-throws by Nina Minicozzi put the Big Green back ahead by one point, but it was short lived as Weltz took the lead back making a midrange jump shot near the free throw line, taking a 56-55 lead with just 41 seconds left to play.  

• Jacklynn Hosier, Weltz, and Hanson all made free-throws down the stretch for Vermont as the Catamounts were able to hold onto the lead, defeating Dartmouth 61-59 at home to wrap up their non-conference action.  
   

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE 

• Kresge secured her 129th win as the Head Coach of UVM Women's Basketball, becoming the all-time winningest coach in program history.  

• Priede scored a game-high 18 points while corralling a game-high nine rebounds and adding one assists, one steal, and one block. It's the fourth time this season Priede has scored 18 or more points while grabbing nine or more rebound.  

• Hanson tied a career high registering five assists. Hanson also tied a season high grabbing four rebounds to go along with 12 total points.  

• Weltz notched 16 points while adding a game-high seven assists. She also recorded three rebounds and a game-high four steals. It's the second time this season Weltz has recorded four or more steals in a single game.  

• UVM shot better than Dartmouth from the field and from long distance, shooting 23-55 (41.8%) from the field and 6-19 (31.6%) from three while the Big Green shot 21-52 (40.4%) and 3-17 (17.6%) from long distance.  

• With today's Win, Vermont Mutual Insurance Group will donate $100 to the Lund Family Center through the Cat's Win, Community Win's initiative. Vermont Mutual has donated over $5 Million Dollars since launching their Charitable Giving Fund in 2014. 

UP NEXT  

Following the win over Dartmouth, the Catamounts get four days to prepare for their America East conference opener on the road in Albany, N.Y. where they will go head-to-head with UAlbany on Thursday (Jan. 1) in a rematch of the 2024-25 America East Championship game. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with the radio broadcast available on the Varsity Network App featuring Ryan Zimmerman on the call. 

Vermont Federal Credit Union is the presenting sponsor of Vermont women's basketball