Box Score
BALTIMORE – UMBC women's basketball
had all three of its senior guards tally double-digit points, in
addition to the Retrievers pouring in an America East season-high
28 free throws, as UMBC avenged last month's three-point loss to
Vermont, defeating the Catamounts, 71-55, on Saturday afternoon at
the RAC Arena.
The Retrievers were led by America East Player of the GameRaven
Harris' (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne/American) game-high 21
points, while Kristin Coles (Charles Town, W.Va./Notre
Dame Academy/American) added her first double-double of the season,
finishing with 13 rebounds and 12 points – all of which came
from the free throw line. Brittany Crowell (Brandywine,
Md./Gwynn Park/James Madison) chipped in 16 points for UMBC.
The black and gold held a three-point advantage at the break,
32-29, but following a Harris layup, Vermont scored five-straight
points to start the second half and tied the game at 34. Senior
guard Lauren Wheeler gave the Catamounts their first lead of the
stanza with a trey, for three of her nine points in the contest,
but Crowell quickly responded by banking in a three to put UMBC
back on top 41-39, with 11:06 remaining. Wheeler sank another
three, but Harris completed back-to-back three-point plays,
followed by a pair of free throws from junior center Dana
Lewis (Brodhead, Wis./Brodhead) to open up an eight-point
Retriever lead, 47-42, with 9:29 remaining in the contest. A pair
of free throws from sophomore guard Ashley
Lambert (Fredericksburg, Va./Riverbend) closed out a 10-0 run
that the Catamounts were unable to overcome.
UMBC connected on 22-of-23 shots from the charity stripe in the
second half, helping to extend Vermont's deficit to 13, with 3:26
on the clock. UVM cut its deficit to eight, 62-54, before a
sweeping layup from Lambert, two of her eight points in the
contest, with 1:31 stopped the Catamounts in their tracks. Coles
would connect on seven free throws in the final minute to seal the
victory.
Vermont's America East Player of the game Tierra Shumpert led
the Catamounts with 13 points, while sophomore forward Niki Taylor
chipped in 11 points and seven rebounds.
The Retrievers move to 8-16 on the season and 4-7 in conference,
while Vermont (7-16, 4-6 AE) lost its fourth straight.
UMBC took some time to get going on the offensive end in the
early going, with Lewis accounting for the Retrievers' two made
field goals, but also two of UMBC's four early fouls. Vermont took
advantage of UMBC's early foul trouble, connecting on eight-of-nine
free throws in the opening five minutes of play to take a 10-4
lead.
The senior guard duo of Harris and Crowell awoke the Retrievers,
scoring on three of the next four possessions, bringing UMBC back
within two, 13-11.
Crowell continued to shake off Wednesday's tough shooting
performance, drilling three of her first five three-point attempts,
to keep the Retrievers in the game, but Vermont controlled the
boards early (17-8) and knocked down four-of-four from beyond the
arc to hold the five-point lead, 29-24.
The Retrievers took care of the ball in the opening half,
turning it over just four times in the stanza – with the
first coming at the 6:32 mark – and held the Catamounts
scoreless over the final 4:35 of the half. UMBC took advantage of
the opportunity, going on an 8-0 run and took its first lead of the
afternoon, 32-29, on a three from sophomore guard Bria
White (Silver Spring, Md./Bethesda-Chevy Chase/Longwood) as
time expired.
The Retrievers return to the court on Wednesday, Feb. 13 in
their Play4Kay contest against New Hampshire. Tip is set for 7 p.m.
at the RAC Arena.
Dawg Notes:
-Raven Harris and Brittany Crowell, who each had their
double-digit scoring streaks broken on Wednesday, led the
Retrievers in scoring, with 21 and 16, respectively. Harris
connected on three old-fashioned three-point plays in the game and
finished the game with a career-high two blocked shots.
-Kristin Coles notched her seventh career-double-double in the
game, with season-highs in points (12) and rebounds (13) –
seven coming on the offensive end. Coles has scored in double-digit
points in three of the four games that she has seen 11-plus minutes
of action in.
