Women’s basketball season ticket holders sat on the edge of courtside seats as the Catamounts jockeyed the lead back and forth versus the University of Albany on Feb. 8.
The game brought 1,282 fans to Patrick Gymnasium in celebration of National Girls and Women in Sports Day.
As fans mingled through the isles looking for refreshments at halftime, student athletes took to the floor to accept the Hynes Family Women’s Sports Fund, a $250,000 endowment dedicated to supporting women in sports at the University.
The announcement was fitting for an unpredictable game between two top teams duking it out for supremacy in America East conference standings.
Since her debut 2018-2019 season, head coach Alisa Kresge brought the Cats to the NCAA tournament for the first time in over a decade in 2022, winning her recognition as America East coach of the year. Bob and Sandra Walsh were quick to attribute the team’s recent success to Kresge’s takeover.
“We enjoy the girls game. We think it has really advanced and we think that Coach Kresge is really doing a good job recruiting players. It seems like she can put people in and not lose a beat,” Bob said.
The Walshes have been coming to UVM women’s basketball since the program’s inception in the late 1970s and have been season ticket holders for the past 20 seasons.
Just last season, Kresge’s squad drew more attention when they surged to the semifinal round of the National Invitational Tournament, becoming the first basketball team to play an April game in school history.
The team’s good luck charms might be Dave and Pattie Smallwood, who have followed UVM athletics for decades but became women’s basketball season ticket holders just two years ago.
“They’re really fun to watch. We love the brand of basketball they play,” said Dave.
The Essex-based couple even traveled to Storrs, Conn. to watch the team face UConn in the 2022 NCAA tournament.
But it was the Cats of the 1990s that originally sold folks like the Walshes and the Smallwoods on UVM women’s basketball. In 1992 and 1993, the team went undefeated in conference play under head coach Cathy Inglese, competing in the NCAA women’s tournament in both postseasons.
“It was unbelievable. They went undefeated for two years and the place was always packed. You couldn’t get a ticket. It was amazing,” Pattie said.
The energy Pattie remembers from the ‘90s remained palpable as the Cats scraped out their win over Albany 59-50 on Feb. 8.
Demand for women’s hoops keeps growing and has been a welcome change for some of the women’s teams’ first fans.
“When we first came here, the place was empty but when [Inglese] got here it was full. It is recognized now. Back in the ‘70s, there weren’t as many people coming to see the game,” Sandra said.
Without professional teams or rivaling college programs, the embroidered “Vermont” on UVM uniforms represents more than just campus for regulars at Patrick Gym.
Vermonters like the Walshes and the Smallwoods are drawn to the style of play and the tight-knit culture of Catamount Country that makes its women’s basketball so special.
“These girls play unselfish basketball … they don’t care if they shoot as long as they set it up for somebody else to do it,” Bob said as the third quarter ticked away.
Vermont sits in second place in America East standings with an 11-3 record, one win short of No. 1 Albany at 12-2.
Women’s basketball has just two games remaining before the America East tournament begins on March 6, where they have a shot at redemption after last season’s championship loss to the University of Maine.
