This week, UVM’s women’s basketball team hosted the Niagara University Purple Eagles and the Colgate Raiders for two rounds of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament.

Starting on Monday, the Catamounts took care of business against the Purple Eagles squad. After a strong offensive start from Niagara, Vermont responded and held onto the lead for the remainder of the night.

The Catamounts shot a season high of 32 free throws, converting on 23 of the attempts to propel them to a 69-63 victory.

After a strong second round performance, the Catamounts faced the red-hot Colgate Raiders. Entering the Super 16 matchup, the Raiders won their first two tournament games in convincing fashion.

The Colgate Raiders opened up the game on a strong 10-2 run. After a quick timeout by head coach Alisa Kresge, the Catamounts played catch-up for the remainder of the first quarter, and found themselves down five points entering the second.

After a shaky offensive start, the Catamounts flipped the switch in the second. In addition to the aggressive offensive, Vermont’s defense shut down Colgate, holding the Raiders to only four points in the quarter. The strong quarter gave the Catamounts a seven point advantage heading into halftime.

The UVM offense continued to work coming out of the break, with sophomore Keira Hanson scoring seven quick points to open up the quarter. The Colgate offense heated back up, however, keeping the Raiders in the game.

The fourth quarter provided a great offensive showing for both squads. The Catamounts opened the quarter with two crucial three pointers, but the Raiders continued to find success in the paint. Colgate cut the lead to five in the final four minutes of play.

Despite the Colgate push, the Catamounts stayed poised. Vermont took care of the basketball, and converted a perfect six of six to hold off a resilient Colgate squad 65-55.

The Catamounts will make their first ever appearance in the Great Eight this upcoming Monday as they travel to West Lafayette, Indiana to play the Purdue Boilermakers.