BALTIMORE - UMBC travels to Vermont to take on the top-seeded Catamounts in the Air Force Reserve America East Semifinals on Monday night.
THE BRACKET
HOW THEY GOT HERE
- UMBC entered the Air Force Reserve America East Playoffs as the #4 seed after posting a 10-6 record in conference play this season. The Retrievers went 15-13 overall in the regular season, closing out the season with victories in four of their last five games. UMBC defeated New Hampshire at home on Feb. 14 before knocking off top-seeded Vermont in Burlington on Feb. 19. After a loss in 2OT at UAlbany, UMBC bounced back with a 2OT victory over Bryant before closing out the year with a victory over UMass Lowell.
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Vermont came into the tournament as the number one seed, going 24-7 (13-3) in the regular season. UVM's only three America East losses came to the three teams remaining in the America East Playoffs (Maine, Binghamton, UMBC). The Catamounts have won six of their last seven contests.
LAST TIME OUT
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Jade Tillman's shot with one second left on the clock sent UMBC past NJIT in the America East Quarterfinal on Thursday night inside Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena. The game-winner, sending UMBC on to the finals with a 66-65 win, was Tillman's third winner in the final six seconds this season and her second against the Highlanders. Tillman finished with 21 & 12 while Carmen Yanez, Alaina Williams, and Dagny Slomack each scored 12 points.
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Vermont raced out to an early lead in Thursday's 55-40 win over #8 UAlbany, leading 20-8 after the first 10 minutes. The Great Danes clawed back into the game, pulling within two in the third quarter before the Catamounts broke away for a 15-point victory. Three Vermont players scored in doubles figures, led by 16 from Nikola Priede, while Malia Lenz (13) and Keira Hanson (11) also had strong games for Vermont. Vermont won the turnover battle by 11, proving to be a key factor in the victory.
SERIES HISTORY
- Thursday's meeting will be the 52nd all-time meeting between UMBC and Vermont, and the second straight season with a meeting in the America East Playoffs.
- Vermont leads the all-time series 31-20 after UMBC broke the Catamounts nine-game winning streak in the series on February 19. The Retrievers last won back-to-back games in the series in 2017.
- In the most recent meeting, Tillman drove right after catching the inbounds pass and knocked down a pull-up jumper with 5.6 seconds left on the clock to win the game for UMBC. Tillman finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds in what was a low-scoring, back-and-forth affair. Priede had 19 points and six rebounds in the loss for Vermont.
AWARD SZN
- Jade Tillman leads a handful of Retrievers honored by the America East this season, as the sixth player in program history to earn All-America East First Team honors! Tillman was also named the league's Newcomer of the Year, making her the third Retriever to earn the honor.
- Additionally, Heidi Williams and Kennedy Austin were named to the All-Rookie Team, Tiara Bellamy was named to the All-Defensive Team, and Tillman was named to the All-Academic Team.
SCOUTING THE CATAMOUNTS
- Vermont ranks in the top-10 in the country in four different statistical categories ahead of Monday's game. While UMBC has had success turning teams over, the Catamounts are the second hardest team in the country to turn over. Vermont averages just 10.4 turnovers per game, behind only Colorado State at 10.3
- The Catamounts are also in the top-five nationally in scoring defense and three-point percentage defense. Vermont allows just 51.5 points per game, good for fourth in Division I. The only teams harder to score against this season are UConn (50.7), FDU (51.0), and Quinnipiac (51.2). Vermont is also holding opponents to just 25.1 percent from deep, ranking third in the country with fellow America East member, Bryant, leading the country.
- A First Team All-America East Selection and the league's Defensive Player of the Year, Nikola Priede averages 17.4 points and 7.7 rebounds per game while also swatting 1.4 shots per game. Priede ranked fourth in the conference and 45th in the country with 10 double-doubles this season. She ranks 12th in the country in field goal percentage, making 59.7 percent of her shots.
- Keira Hanson joined Priede on the first team while Alisa Kresge was named the league's Coach of the Year. Hanson averaged 14.0 points per game, while knocking down 42.6 percent of her threes. She ranked third in the conference with 60 makes from deep.
SCOUTING THE DAWGS
- UMBC ranks 15th nationally in three-point percentage defense. The Retrievers are holding teams to just 26.6 percent from long range, marking them as one of just 19 women's programs in the country to allow a percentage lower than 27.0.
- Allowing 57.8 points per game, UMBC ranks 30th nationally in scoring defense. The Retrievers are one of four America East teams ranked in the top-30 in the country in scoring defense. UMBC has allowed 50 or fewer points in 10 contests this season, going 10-0 in those games.
- UMBC continues to move up nationally in turnover margin. The Retrievers win the turnover battle by 3.72 per game, moving recently into the top-60 in Division I. UMBC has won the turnover battle in 20 of 29 games, going 13-7 in those contests.
- Tillman and Yanez both rank inside the top-50 nationally in individual statistics, with Tillman sitting 43rd in free throw percentage at 85.7, and Yanez sitting 46th in A/TO ratio with a 1.97 mark.
- Tillman has scored 10 or more points in 22 straight games, upping her scoring average from 10.7 on November 28 to 15.3. Thursday was her sixth 20-plus-point performance and first since January 17. With her 21 points, Tillman moved up four spots to 16th on the single-season scoring list with 444 points.
- After scoring 10 or more points in just four of the first 25 games this season, Yanez has scored 10 or more in four straight contests. She also added six assists to the cause on Thursday and has seven steals in her last two games.
NOTHING BUT NET
- As of Friday, March 6, UMBC ranks 189th in the NCAA's NET rankings. In the NET era, UMBC had never reached higher than 269 in the rankings prior to the 2025-26 season. The Retrievers reached 187th earlier this season, the program's highest-ever ranking.
- UMBC is 1-1 in Quadrant 1 with a win over Virginia and a loss to Maryland.
- UMBC recently defeated 87th-ranked Vermont, the program's first Quadrant 3 win of the season and second win over a top-100 opponent.
- Vermont enters the semis ranked 81st in the NET with a pair of Quad 3 wins over Santa Clara and Hawaii.
- UMBC in the Comprehensive WBB Rankings - NET - 194 | Massey - 248 | KPI - 160
RECORD REPORT
The 2025-26 season has seen a number of Retrievers etch their names into UMBC history. The following is a list of current Retrievers and their ranks in the UMBC Record Books.
CAREER
Jade Tillman - T-2nd in FT % - 85.7
Carmen Yanez - 12th in Ast - 277
SEASON
Jade Tillman - 16th in Points - 444, 7th in Free Throws - 114, 3rd in FT % - 85.7
Delaney Yarborough - 8th in FG % - 52.0
Alaina Williams - 9th in FG % - 51.6
SENIOR
Carmen Yanez - 6th in Ast - 118
JUNIOR
Jade Tillman - 8th in Points - 444, 5th in PPG - 15.3, T7th in Steals - 58, 5th in Free Throws - 114
FRESHMAN
Heidi Williams - 8th in Points - 283, 4th in Steals - 54, 9th in Field Goals - 112
Kennedy Austin - 10th in Free Throws - 69
PLAYOFF BASKETBALL!
- Before Thursday, UMBC last hosted an America East Quarterfinal game on March 1, 2023, defeating NJIT 82-71. Thursday's game was just the second home game for UMBC in the AE Playoffs since the league switched back to the home game model based on seed.
- UMBC has claimed one America East Regular Season Title in program history (2010-11) and one America East Tournament Title (2006-07).
- In America East postseason play, the Retrievers hold an all-time record of 10-19.
HISTORY MADE
- UMBC's victory on the road at Virginia was a historic one for the Retrievers. UMBC never trailed, allowing Virginia to tie the contest once in the fourth before fighting off the Cavalier rally for a 61-56 victory.
- The win on Thursday was the first Power 4 (ACC, SEC, Big 10, Big 12) victory in UMBC program history, snapping a streak of 38 straight losses against such programs. UMBC was previously 0-4 all-time against Virginia and 0-15 against the ACC.
- The 64 percent UMBC shot from three in the win proved to be its best showing from distance since shooting 66.7 percent from deep at George Mason in December 2024.
- Candice Hill's program shocked the Cavaliers from the jump, building an 11-2 lead in the first four minutes of the contest. The lead grew to 14 midway through the second quarter as Yánez drilled a three to make it 33-19 Retrievers. UMBC took an eight-point lead into the break and led by 12 at the 7:40 mark of the third as Williams connected from deep, but UVA was able to trim the deficit to one with 37 ticks left on the third quarter clock. Kennedy Austin found Scott open for three with 11 seconds remaining in the third to put the Retrievers up by four entering the final quarter of play. Virginia tied the game at 54 with 3:13 to play, but the Cavaliers never took the lead as the Retrievers held on to win on the road. Tiara Bellamy went baseline, converting a reverse layup with 28 seconds left to put UMBC up by three. Virginia once again pulled within one, but Williams made four free throws in the final six seconds to ice the game.
GETTING TO KNOW THE DAWGS
- Hill's program features five returners and eight newcomers in 2025-26. Carmen Yánez is the lone returning starter for UMBC, while fellow captain Tiara Bellamy is expected to fill a larger role. Also back are junior Alaina Williams, and sophomores Lauren Thompson and Kenya Ramsey.
- UMBC's eight newcomers are split between four transfers and four freshmen.
- The 2025-26 Retrievers represent three countries and six states.
- Maryland (5) -> Austin, Scott, Tillman, H. Williams, Yarborough
- New Jersey (2) -> Bellamy, Slomack
- Connecticut (1) -> Thompson
- Florida (1) -> A. Williams
- Virginia (1) -> Ramsey
- West Virginia (1) -> Jones
- Spain (1) -> Yánez
- England (1) -> Crowley
- Yánez, Bellamy, and Yarborough will captain the program in 2025-26. Yánez started 28 games last season and handed out five or more assists in seven different games. Bellamy averaged just under four points per game off the bench in year one as a Retriever after transferring from Saint Peter's. Yarborough, the veteran transfer from NC A&T, posted five games with at least five rebounds and put forth her best performance of the season (9 pts, 6 reb) against her former school, Stony Brook.
2024-25 IN REWIND
- The 2024-25 Retrievers posted a record of 14-15 in year one under Candice Hill, matching the 2022-23 record for the most wins since 2016-17 for UMBC women's hoops.
- UMBC reached the America East Conference Tournament as the #7 seed before falling to #2 Vermont, 70-39. The Retrievers held a two-point lead after the opening 10 minutes before the Catamounts pulled away.
- The name of the game for the Retrievers in 2024-25 was defense as UMBC ranked in the top-65 in the country in scoring defense, allowing just 59.1 points per game. The Retrievers defended the three-point line extremely well, finishing the season 37th in Division I and second in the America East as teams shot just 28.1 percent from deep.
- UMBC was also stellar at the charity stripe last season, knocking down its free throws at a 74.7 percent clip, ranking in the top-80 in Division I and recording the third-best mark in program history.
- Under Hill's guidance, the Retrievers improved offensively from behind the three-point line (29.5% -> 30.4 %) and the free-throw line (67.8% -> 74.7%). The Retrievers also handed out 10.4 assists per game compared to 9.9 the season prior and turned the ball over 1.3 fewer times per game in 2024-25.
