FINAL SCORE: #2 Vermont 62, #1 UAlbany 55
ALBANY, N.Y. – The two-seed Vermont Catamounts (21-12, 13-3 AEC) claimed their eighth America East Championship in UVM women's basketball program history, defeating the top-seed UAlbany Great Danes (26-6, 14-2 AEC) 62-55 on Friday evening from the Broadview Center in the 2025 Jersey Mike's America East Championship. With the victory Vermont punches its ticket to the 2025 NCAA March Madness Tournament with the America East conference's automatic qualifier bid. UVM's seed and matchup will be announced on Sunday, March 16 at 8 p.m. ET during the NCAA Women's Selection Show on ESPN.
 
RELATED LINKS
Box Score (.pdf)
CatamounTV: Highlights | Celebration Extra
Photo Gallery
Postgame
 
COACH'S QUOTE
"Incredible game," said Head Coach Alisa Kresge. "The atmosphere was outstanding, UAlbany has done an incredible job all year, their fans showed up, there were points in the game where I couldn't even hear myself think. I remember back to the first league game here, we really had a gut check at halftime, and credit to our players, taking it seriously, and really every possession, every practice, every day, digging in a little bit deeper and finding a way to have each other's back and get us to this point and then gutting out a really impressive game on both sides of the ball. Couldn't be prouder of our group, they've worked really hard to get to this point."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The game started with incredible pace, seeing both squads shoot above 50% from the field before the first timeout of the opening quarter with 1:25 on the clock as Vermont gained a 14-13 one-point lead. Nikola Priede led the way with six points while Bella Vito, Catherine Gilwee, and Keira Hanson combined for eight points.
• Priede was able to record her first steal of the game with 20 seconds left in the first quarter to give the Catamounts a chance at a last second basket, but Vito's jumper was a tad long, sending Vermont into the second frame with a one-point lead, 14-13.
• Hanson came out strong to start the second quarter, scoring a floater and a reverse layup on back-to-back offensive possessions to combat two opening baskets from UAlbany, knotting the score at 18-18 with 7:33 to go in the second frame.
• Prior to the first media timeout of the second frame, a basket disallowed for The Great Danes empowered the Catamounts to take the lead, seeing Anna Olson cash in on her first two free throws of the game, and a tough defensive rebound from Malia Lenz ignite Sarah Ericson's first basket of the game, earning Vermont a two-point lead, 22-20, with 4:42 left on the clock.
• The first half ended with nine different ties as Vermont and UAlbany were locked at 28-28. The Great Danes took a slight 8-6 scoring run into halftime. Priede led the Catamounts in scoring with 10 points while Kayla Cooper led the charge for UAlbany with seven points.
• Vito secured the first basket of the third quarter for the Catamounts with a tough driving layup with the right hand, earning UVM a 30-28 lead 49 seconds into the new frame.
• Olson and Priede anchored Vermont to its largest lead of the game with 4:55 remaining in the third quarter, taking a 37-32 lead. Olson scored five points in a 7-4 scoring run while Priede got a spinning fadeaway jump shot to fall for her fifth basket of the game. Vito snagged two steals in under two minutes to help propel the Catamounts.
• Priede took control in the final 1:22 to play in the third quarter, scoring layups on back-to-back offensive trips down the court for the Catamounts as Vermont entered the final frame of action holding a nine-point lead, 41-32.
• Gilwee came out on fire to start the fourth quarter, draining a mid-range pull up jump shot and then her second three-pointer of the game with 8:31 remaining on the clock, seeing Vermont gain a double-digit lead, 46-35.
• With 4:37 remaining, Priede made her eighth basket of the game, tying a season high, disrupting a late offensive push from the Great Danes as Vermont maintained the lead, 50-44.
• Coming out of the media timeout, Vermont responded to a mid-range jump shot by Meghan Huerter on the other end with a three-pointer from Hanson and a layup from Olson, taking a nine-point lead, 55-46, with 3:12 of gametime remaining.
• Vermont tamed all last-minute offensive pushes from UAlbany, seeing Gilwee, Ericson, and Priede combine for seven points down the stretch as the Catamounts defeated the Great Danes 62-55 to punch their ticket to the NCAA March Madness Tournament.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Vermont claims its eighth America East Championship in program history, earning the title under Head Coach Alisa Kresge for the second time in the last three seasons.
• This is the second time in the last three years the Catamounts have won the championship after being selected No. 3 in the Preseason Poll.
• Priede and Hanson were both named to the 2025 All-Championship Team.
• Priede led all scorers with 20 points, her second game this season with 20 points or more, shooting 9-13 from the field, a new career high in made field goals, while also adding nine rebounds and two steals. With her performance in the tournament, she was named Most Outstanding Player of the Jersey Mikes America East Playoffs. In three games she averaged 16.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.3 steals, 1.7 blocks, shot 62.8% from the field, and 83.3% from the free throw line.
• Priede recorded a career high 39 minutes played in the championship game.
• Gilwee notched 12 points, one rebound, and one steal against UAlbany.
• Olson finished with 11 points to go along with six rebounds, two assists, and one block.
• Vito notched a tied game high with two steals. She also added five points, two rebounds, and one assist.
• Hanson finished with nine points, two assists, and one steal.
• Ericson tallied five points, six rebounds, one assist, and one steal.
• Vermont secures its first ever America East Championship victory on the road and is now 3-2 in America East Championship games as the two-seed.
• This was the third straight season the Catamounts competed in the America East Championship game, tied for the second longest streak in program history (four straight from 1991-1994).
• UVM shot 75.0% from the free throw line to UAlbany's 58.3%.
• Vermont out rebounded UAlbany 26-23.
• Catamounts snagged seven steals to the Great Danes' three.
• With the win, Vermont extends its win streak to six games.

UP NEXT
After winning the 2025 Jersey Mikes America East Championship game, Vermont earned the conference's automatic qualifier bid into the 2025 NCAA Tournament. The selection show for the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament is scheduled for March 16, at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. The first and second round games of the NCAA Tournament will take place from Friday through Monday, March 21-24. Stay tuned to UVMAthletics.com for updated ticket and schedule information.
 
For news and updates about the Vermont women's basketball program, follow @UVMwbb on X and Facebook, @Catamountsbb on Instagram, and visit UVMathletics.com.
Vermont Federal Credit Union is the presenting sponsor of Vermont women's basketball.