BALTIMORE -- Ashia McCalla (Greenbelt, Md.) scored in double-figures for the fourth straight game, and sixth time in seven overall, but visiting Vermont used a big first quarter to get past UMBC, 64-51, on Saturday at The Peake.

McCalla finished with a team-best 16 points, while Laycee Drake (Hancock, N.Y.) added 13, and Nia Staples (Cincinnati, Oh.) came off the bench to score 11. Kiara Bell (Santa Rosa, Calif.) pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds for her third straight double-digit rebound performance.

UMBC (9-11, 6-3 AE) actually outscored Vermont (15-6, 7-2 AE) 43-42 over the final three quarters, but the Catamounts 22-8 edge in the first was too much for the Retrievers to overcome.

How it Happened:

• McCalla and Drake put UMBC up 4-0 early, and after five-straight from Vermont, Keelah Dixon (Boston, Mass.) hit a pair of free throws to give the Retrievers a 6-5 lead with six minutes left in the first
• Vermont would respond with a 13-0 run over the next 3:30 to pull ahead 18-6, and would eventually take a 22-8 lead into the second quarter
• A three by McCalla brought UMBC within eight, at 24-16, midway through the frame, but the Catamounts would let the Retrievers get no closer as they took a 31-22 lead into the half.
• Vermont would extend the lead to 16 early in the third, but UMBC would claw back, and eventually cut it back down to eight on a pair of Drake free throws with just under a minute to go in the frame
•  The Catamounts would score the final two points of the third and the first two points of the fourth to go up 49-37, but UMBC would go on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 49-44 with 7:21 left
• Vermont responded with a 7-0 run of its own and the lead would eventually ballon to 16 at 62-46 with just under three minutes remaining
• McCalla would get a three-point play and then steal the inbounds pass and feed Drake for two to cut the deficit to 62-51with 1:56 left, but UVM would keep the Retrievers off the board the rest of the way.

UMBC hits the road again for a mid-week game at Binghamton on Wednesday. The Retrievers opened conference play back in December with a 73-69 win over the Bearcats at The Peake. Tip-off in Vestal is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN+