Courtesy Vermont Sports Information

BURLINGTON – Sophomore Candice Wright pocketed her first career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds as the Vermont women’s basketball team downed Holy Cross 63-52 at Patrick Gymnasium on Wednesday night.

The Catamounts are now 3-4 on the season, while Holy Cross drops to 1-6. The win was UVM’s sixth straight against the Crusaders at Patrick Gymnasium.

Wright also chipped in four blocks, setting a single game season-best and finishing one short of a career-high.

UVM used a fast start to gain an early lead over the Crusaders. Wright set up Hanna Crymble to open the game’s scoring, grabbing a defensive rebound and dishing a quick pass to the freshman.Kylie Butler then entered the box score, picking up her first assist of the night on a feed to Courtney Wright. Shortly thereafter, Butler came away with an errant Holy Cross pass in front of her own bench, then drove end-to-end for a layup. The latter play gave UVM an eight-point advantage, their largest of the quarter.

Vermont assisted on four of its six first quarter field goals and outscored Holy Cross in the paint by an 8-2 margin in the opening frame.

The Crusaders responded in the second period, stringing together nine consecutive points afterHayley Robertson buried a jumper near the free throw line. Sydney Smith ended the sequence, draining a 3-pointer with 1:51 on the clock.

Following halftime, UVM returned the favor with a 12-1 run. That span, which included three straight 3-pointers, began when Smith grabbed an offensive rebound and put home a layup at the 9:25 mark. After Candice Wright made a free throw, Kallie Banker (2) and Kristina White proceeded to hit from behind the arc.

The latter stages of the game saw the Crusaders chip away after Vermont padded its lead to 16 at the 5:26 mark of the final period. Lauren Handy drained a 3-pointer, then Holy Cross responded with a 9-0 run courtesy of Amy Hasenauer, Lauren Manis, Infiniti Thomas-Waheed and Madison Springfield. UVM then sealed the win with seven points from the charity stripe in the last 2:16.

While Manis led the Crusaders with 13 points, Vermont was successful in containing Thomas-Waheed, who entered the tilt averaging 16 points per game but was held to only six.

The Catamounts are back on the hardwood on Sunday (Dec. 4), dueling with Temple in Philadelphia at 2 p.m.