On Monday, April 6, the UVM women’s basketball team walked into Mackey Arena and upset the Purdue Boilermakers to keep their season alive.

The Cats entered the Great Eight matchup against Purdue with previous tournament wins over Niagara and Colgate at home. Playing host to the Big-10 Boilermakers, the Catamounts came ready to play.

The game opened with solid back-and-forth play from both squads. The Boilermakers started off strong, shooting an efficient 8/18 to open the game, with the Cats not too far behind at 6/15.

The hot offensive start did not continue into the second quarter, with Vermont converting only 25% of their field goals in the quarter. The defense, however, forced the Boilermakers into very difficult shots. The Cats found themselves down only 29-23 heading into halftime.

The second half presented a much different story than the first. The Catamount offense came out firing to start the third quarter, as the Cats cut the lead to one point in the half’s opening two minutes.

Sophomore guard Keira Hanson led the third quarter charge for the Catamounts, scoring eight points including the quarter’s only three-pointers.

Entering the final quarter leading 43-41, the Catamounts stayed in the driver seat for the remainder of the game. The offense continued to stay hot, with graduate guard Emma Utterback scoring 10 of the 24 Catamount points in the fourth.

The Boilermakers continued to fight, but the Vermont offense fended them off, thanks to shooting 8/12 from the field and 10/10 from the free throw line. The final buzzer sounded off in the stunned arena as the Catamount’s upset the Purdue Boilermakers 67-59.