FINAL SCORE: Vermont 72, New Hampshire 56 
 

BURLINGTON, Vt. – Nikola Priede scored a career-high 35 points to lead Vermont (13-4, 2-0 AE) past New Hampshire (6-9, 0-2 AE) on Saturday afternoon at Patrick Gymnasium. The win improved Vermont's record to 2-0  in conference play. 

RELATED LINKS  

Box Score  

CatamounTV Highlights 

COACH'S QUOTE  

"Every win is important," said Mayer Women's Basketball Head Coach Alisa Kresge. "Another win in league is huge to try and get to our end goal, but we know we have a lot to get better at. And so, when we break this down, we have to figure out ways to be more consistent. Those are the things we're worried about going onto the next opponent here. We tell our players we have tonight, and then we're onto the next."  

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• Keira Hanson opened scoring 47 seconds into the game after collecting a steal on the defensive end and going coast-to-coast for the layup, earning Vermont the opening 2-0 lead.  

• By the first media timeout with 2:34 left on the clock in the first quarter, New Hampshire was able to gain a 14-9 advantage after going on a 14-7 scoring run led by Eva DeChent with five points. Hanson was able to tame the Wildcat offensive surge with a corner three-pointer at the 2:59 mark.  

• Coming out of the timeout, Priede scored on Vermont's first possession, using a turnaround jump shot from midrange to bring the Catamounts within three, 14-11, with just over two minutes remaining in the opening frame.  

• Katie Ledden executed a driving layup to wrap up scoring in the first quarter as New Hampshire took a 16-11 lead into the second quarter.  

• The Catamounts managed to crawl back within two points, down 20-18 with 7:11 remaining before halftime, orchestrating a 7-4 scoring run to open the second quarter, seeing Malia Lenz, Emma Haan, and Priede all make layups. Lenz also made a free throw in the process.   

• Vermont took a 34-28 lead into halftime, getting ten points from Priede and six points from Hanson en route to a 16-8 scoring run to end the first half. Jadyn Weltz recorded seven first half assists, connecting with Priede on four of her baskets in the second quarter with textbook pick-and-rolls, propelling the Catamounts ahead by six points.  

• It was back-and-forth basketball at the first media timeout of the third quarter with UVM maintaining the lead, 42-35, getting six points from Priede, who pulled out all her offensive tricks, making a layup, a turnaround jump shot, and a mid-range jump shot, sustaining the Vermont offensive pressure with under five minutes left in the third frame. Hanson also added two free throws to begin the third quarter.  

• Following a three-pointer from Weltz with 4:26 on the clock, Patrick Gymnasium erupted when Weltz once again showed off her playmaking abilities, finding Jacklynn Hosier a minute later in front of the Catamount bench, where she drained a three-pointer, forcing New Hampshire to take a timeout as Vermont gained a double-digit lead, 48-37, with 3:29 remaining in the quarter.  

• Weltz capped off the third quarter with a buzzer-beater mid-range floater, seeing UVM take a 55-41 lead into the final quarter of action. Prior to the Weltz buzzer beater, Priede made a layup while getting fouled, where she then made her free-throw at the charity stripe. Lenz also added a layup after a touchdown pass of an assist from Weltz set her up perfectly for a wide-open look.  

• Priede took over in the final quarter, scoring ten total points, finishing with 35 points overall, the most points since 2017, as the Catamounts roared past the Wildcats 72-56 on home court.  

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE  

• To go with Priede's 35 points, she shot 16-20 (80.0%) from the field, 3-3 (100.0%) from the charity stripe, pulled down four rebounds, and had one assist.  

•  Hanson was second in scoring with 13 points; she also corralled three rebounds, dished out an assist, and recorded two steals.  

• Weltz recorded her fourth career double-double as she scored 10 points, had 11 assists, pulled in five rebounds, and recorded a steal.  

• Lenz led the team in rebounds with seven on the day; she also scored seven points. 

• Vermont had the edge in shooting from the field as they went 31-58 (53.4%). However, New Hampshire shot better from both three-point range goig 3-10 (30.0%), and from the line, shooting 9-11 (81.8%).  

• The Catamounts held a 15–12 advantage in assists over the Wildcats. 

• 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 New Hampshire, the Catamounts get five days to prepare for their next road game in Vestal, N.Y. where they will take on the Binghamton Bearcats on Thursday (Jan. 8). Tip-off is scheduled for 6 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