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UVM Women Beat Twin State Rival Dartmouth in Home Opener

11/25/09

BURLINGTON, VT - Freshman Kendra Seto (Oshawa, Ontario) led five Catamounts in double-figures with a team-high 15 points as Vermont posted an 83-59 victory over Dartmouth in the home opener for UVM at Patrick Gymnasium on Wednesday night.

The Catamounts improve to 4-0 on the year, while Dartmouth falls to 1-3 on the season. UVM is 4-0 for the first time under head coach Sharon Dawley and the first time since the 2002-03 season.

Vermont came out of the gate slowly, going 0-5 from the field. The Big Green led 7-6 after a free throw from Brittney Smith with 14:07 remaining, but a three-pointer by May Kotsopoulos (Waterloo, Ontario) on the following Vermont possession ignited a 15-2 run by the Catamounts. A layup by freshman Morgan Albert (Bighton, Mich.) capped the run and gave Vermont a 14-point lead, 22-8, with 9:18 left in the half.

UVM maintained the double digit lead until the final two minutes of the half when the Big Green rattled off five quick points to cut the margin to seven, 30-23, as the teams headed to the locker room.

Vermont opened the second half with a 7-2 spurt, which stretched into a 23-3 run and allowed UVM to pull away from the Big Green, opening up a 25-point advantage. The Catamounts would lead by as many as 33 in the second half and went on to earn their fourth straight victory to start the season.

The Catamounts bounced back from shooting 37.8 percent in the first half to shoot 55.9 percent in the second stanza. UVM out rebounded Dartmouth 42-32 on the boards, 18-10 on the offensive class. Vermont also forced the Big Green into 23 points, translating in 26 points for the UVM.

Seto, who went 7-for-10 from the field, added five rebounds in her debut at Patrick Gymnasium. Also making their Catamount debuts were newcomers Kristine Lalonde (Sudbury, Ontario) and Lauren Wheeler (Ancaster, Ontario). Junior Tonya Young (Canaan, N.H.) also made her season debut and responded with 12 points and four rebounds in 12 minute off the bench.

Senior Courtnay Pilypaitis (Ottawa, Ontario), the reigning America East Player of the Week, was one assist shy of a double-double, contributing 12 points, nine assists, five rebounds and five steals in the game. Her nine helpers, moved her into fifth place among the all-time America East assist leaders, passing current Maine head coach Cindy Blodgett's mark of 487.

Classmate Alissa Sheftic (Essex Junction, Vt.) added a season-high 10 points and grabbed five rebounds and Kotsopoulos finished the game with 12 points, four rebounds and three steals. Freshman Lauren Buschmann (St. Catharines, Ontario) grabbed a team-high eight rebounds and chipped nine points off the bench.

Meghan McFee paced the Big Green with a game-high 16 points on 5-for-9 shooting. Brittney Smith added 13 points and nine rebounds and Sasha Dosenko chipped in nine points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for Dartmouth.

Vermont will return to action on Wednesday (Dec. 3) when it travels to Storrs, Conn. to take on No. 1 Connecticut at 7:30 p.m. The game will be a rematch of UVM's NCAA First Round game against the Huskies last season. Connecticut defeated Vermont and went on to win the 2009 NCAA National Championship.

---Courtesy Vermont Athletics