Sophomore Kim Corbitt’s jumper with two seconds left in regulation lifted the Maine Black Bears past Vermont, 54-52, in a battle between the top two teams in the America East Conference on “Senior Night” at Vermont.
Both teams were cold from the floor to start the game, Vermont missed its first 10 shots of the game and didn’t score a field goal until junior Aaron Yantzi hit a jumper at the 14:06 mark of the first half to make the score 8-4 in Maine’s favor.
Maine, which shot just 37% from the field in the first half, went ahead 18-5, behind nine points from junior Heather Ernest, to take a 13-point lead, its biggest of the game.
Maine’s Heather Ernest led all scorers with 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Black Bears. Melissa Heon chipped in 12 points and eight boards, while Corbitt added 12 points and six assists. Maine shot just 35% from the field for the game.
Hall and Cressman both posted double-doubles in their final home games at Patrick Gym. Hall scored a team-high 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the line. Cressman added 10 points, eight in the second half, and grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds.
The Catamounts shot a season-low 30.9% from the field, but out-rebounded the Black Bears, 42-38, on the glass. Maine entered the game ranked 14th in the nation in rebound margin at +8.1. UVM’s defense also held Maine to a season low 54 points, the Black Bears came into the game averaging 70.2 points per game.
Vermont then wrapped up the regular season with a win at Stony Brook on Saturday at 2:00pm. Junior Aaron Yantzi led four Catamounts in double-figures with a game-high 26 points as they posted the 82-57 victory.
With the victory, Vermont improves to 20-7 overall and 12-4 in America East. It’s the second-straight 20-win season for Vermont in head coach Keith Cieplicki’s tenure and the fourth time in his six years on the UVM sidelines.
The Catamounts made a statement in the opening minutes of action. A lay-up by sophomore Danielle Sabourin gave Vermont a 19-8 lead at the 13:45 mark of the first half. Vermont would maintain its double-digit lead the rest of the way. Sabourin’s lay-in also ingnited a 13-0 run that was capped on a jumper by Yantzi to put the Catamounts up 30-8 with 10:43 left before halftime. Vermont headed to the locker room up 47-25. UVM shot a sizzling 66.7% from the floor (18-for-27) and Yantzi scored 16 of her 26 points in the first stanza.
UVM continued to pour it on in the second half, quickly increasing its lead to 30 points on a lay-up by senior Morgan Hall. Vermont would jump ahead by as many as 35 (74-39) in the second half and cruised to the victory.
Senior Dawn Cressman has a solid all-around game, scoring 15 points, grabbing eight rebounds and handing out five assists. Hall finished with 11 points, four rebounds and four assists and sophomore Katie McNamara chipped in 12 points.
Junior Sherry Jordan led the Seawolves with 12 points and six rebounds despite being saddled with three fouls in the first half. Theresa LoParrino added nine points and three assists for Stony Brook which closed out the regular season with a 7-9 record.
Up next for both the Catamounts and Seawolves is the America East Women’s Basketball Tournament which will be held March 13-15 at the University of Hartford.
Vermont, the #2 seed, will play #7-seeded Binghamton at noon on Thursday in the first game of the tournament. Stony Brook, the #5-seed will play #4-seeded New Hampshire at 8:00pm on Thursday.
-SportsInfo
