FINAL SCORE: Vermont 44, UMBC 46

BURLINGTON, Vt. – Vermont (22-7, 11-3 AE) fell to UMBC (13-12, 8-5 AE) Thursday evening at Patrick Gym. The Retrievers outscored the Catamounts 15-2 in second-chance points.

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Box Score

COACH'S QUOTE

" Frankly, we knew it was going to be a toughness piece," said Mayer Women's Basketball Head Coach Alisa Kresge. " When you get outrebounded 40 to 23 and still have a chance to win a basketball game…I guess that's a positive. But, rebound, rebound the ball, want it more. Our players are smart; they know what they need to do, and we didn't do it. We gotta figure out why. We've been talking a lot about writing your story, and this is Vermont. We just played that game, feels like we gotta face the mirror and figure out what our issue was and why we're not playing with toughness. A winning culture always plays hard, and right now, this doesn't feel like a winning culture."

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Catamounts led 11-6 at the first timeout, using an early run sparked by an Emma Haan three-pointer. Jadyn Weltz added back-to-back layups, and Nikola Priede capped the surge with a pair of turnaround jumpers.

• Out of the timeout, UMBC answered with a 5-1 run, opening with a Jade Tillman three-pointer and closing with a Carmen Yanez floater. The Catamounts took a 12-11 lead into the second quarter.

• UMBC opened the second quarter on a 6-1 run, capped by Dagny Slomack's two free throws and a pair of layups from Kennedy Austin, taking the momentum until the 5:15 mark.

• The Catamounts answered with a 10-3 run to close the quarter. Priede scored five straight points before Yanez hit a three-pointer for UMBC. Malia Lenz banked in a three-pointer with five seconds left to send Vermont into halftime with a 23-20 lead.

• At the first timeout of the second half, UMBC used a 9-3 run with four different players scoring to take a 29-26 lead at the 6:22 mark of the third quarter.

• The Catamounts closed the third quarter on a 9-7 run, with Weltz and Priede accounting for the team's remaining baskets. Weltz started the surge with a driving layup and capped the run off by connecting on a shot just beyond half court at the buzzer, sending Vermont into the fourth quarter trailing 36-35.

• At the first timeout of the fourth quarter, the Retrievers and the Catamounts were on an even 7-7 run with Tillman accounting for all seven points for UMBC.

• Neither team scored from the 4:46 mark of the fourth quarter until 21 seconds remained, when Heidi Williams made a free throw to give UMBC a 44-42 lead.

• The Catamounts answered with 12 seconds left as Weltz converted a step-through layup to tie the game at 44.

• UMBC answered with five seconds remaining as Tillman hit a stepback jumper to secure the 46-44 victory.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Priede led all scorers with 19 points. She added six rebounds and one steal.

• Weltz finished second on the team with 13 points, adding two rebounds and three assists.

• Tillman posted a double-double for UMBC, scoring 19 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, and adding two assists.

• Vermont had the edge in shooting from the field, going 17-of-46 (37.0%) compared to UMBC's 19-of-54 (35.2%). The Retrievers had the advantage from three-point range, shooting 5-19 (26.3%) compared to the Catamounts' 3-12 (25.0%) mark. UMBC also held the edge in shooting from the charity stripe, going 3-4 (75.0%) compared to Vermont's 7-12 mark (58.3%). 

UP NEXT

UVM hosts NJIT on Saturday, Feb. 21, at Patrick Gym for Senior Night presented by Vermont Federal Credit Union. The Catamounts will plan to honor four seniors before tipoff, which is set for 4 p.m. ET. The game will air live on ESPN+. The radio broadcast will be available via the Varsity Network App with Ryan Zimmerman on the call.