The Vermont Catamount women’s basketball team won its final home game of the season Saturday, defeating Albany 65-61.
Senior co-captains Brittney Cross and Alison Brown were honored before their final home game and the players reflected on their careers.
“My time here at Vermont has been nothing short of amazing!” Cross said. “I am so grateful for this opportunity to be a part of the Catamount family and I would not have traded it for anything!”
“The memories that I have made here are some that I would never trade,” Brown said. “I have grown so much from when I got here four years ago, hopefully into a better person.”
Brown made her first career start on Senior day and fittingly scored the first basket of the game, and also added two rebounds.
The game was back and forth throughout the first half neither team was ahead by more than four points.
Vermont was led by freshman May Kotsopoulos, who scored 16 of her 19 points in the opening half and also contributed on the defensive end with four steals.
“Today, May was outstanding for us. She continues to be solid on the defensive end of the floor, but today she was equally as good on the offensive end,” head coach Sharon Daw-ley said.
The game went into the half tied at 37. Albany came out hot to start the second half and grabbed a six point lead.
The Great Danes had four players in double figures on that day.
There were 18 lead changes and 12 ties in this tight contest, and a key to Vermont’s victory down the stretch was the senior leadership of Cross.
Cross had 12 points, five assists, four steals and no turnovers in the game. Cross put the Catamounts ahead for good with a pair of free throws with 4:07 left, 60-59.
Sophomore Amy Rosencrantz added nine points and three rebounds.
With the win Vermont improves to 18-11 on the season, 8-8 in America East play and locked up the #3 seed in the conference tournament. “We are thrilled to finish in third place,” said Dawley.
“It’s a great spot for us and a tremendous accomplishment given how young we are and the kind of peaks and valleys we traveled through to this point.”
Albany drops to 8-21, 4-12 in America East; they are the #8 seed.
The Catamounts will play next Friday, March 9 in the semifinals of the America East conference tournament.
