BURLINGTON, Vt. - With the game tied at 44-44,
Jade Tillman took the inbound, drove to the right side, and canned a mid-range jumper with 5.6 seconds left to push UMBC past Vermont on Thursday night inside Patrick Gymnasium. The Retrievers improved to 13-12 on the season and 8-5 in the America East, while dropping Vermont to 22-7 and 11-3 on the campaign.
Thursday night's victory snaps a nine-game losing skid to the Catamounts for UMBC and keeps them firmly in the hunt for a top-four seed in March's America East Tournament.
Tillman's led the charge for the Retrievers, finishing with 19 points and 10 rebounds to record her fifth double-double of the season. She knocked down three triples, nabbed three steals, and clinched the victory with the late jumper.
Carmen Yánez hit two threes and finished with 8 points and four assists for UMBC. Reigning Freshman of the Week, Heidi Williams, contributed seven points and seven rebounds, while Alaina Williams pulled down nine rebounds for the Retrievers.
Neither team led by more than five points in the first 20 minutes of the contest. A Yánez three with 2:08 left in the half put the Retrievers ahead 20-18, but a 5-0 run culminating in a jumper before the buzzer from Malia Lenz pushed Vermont ahead 23-20 at the break.
The third quarter continued the back-and-forth affair with UMBC building a five-point lead with 3:52 left as H. Williams hit a jumper, but a quick 6-0 run sent Vermont into the lead with 1:59 left in the third. Tillman scored the next five points, pushing UMBC ahead 36-32 with 52 seconds remaining in the quarter. Jadyn Weltz hit a 30-footer at the buzzer to pull the Catamounts within one entering the fourth quarter.
After Vermont tied the game with 6:33 to play on a pair of Nikola Priede free throws, Tillman connected from three to give UMNC a 43-40 lead with 5:21 remaining. Weltz once again tied the game for Vermont with 12 seconds left, but Tillman's bucket in isolation pushed UMBC to victory.
With Thursday's win, UMBC surpasses its America East win total from 2024-25 with three games left on the schedule. The top-scoring team in the conference, Vermont was held to less than 50 points for just the fourth time this season and second in league play. It becomes the ninth game this season in which
Candice Hill's program has held the opposing team under 50 points.
UMBC is back at it on Saturday at UAlbany. Tip is scheduled for 4 p.m.
