Articles
Women's Basketball: Vermont Erases 15-Point Deficit to Defeat Hartford
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- Created on Sunday, 08 January 2012 05:16
- Written by George Commo
Shanai Heber 14 points, six rebounds, five assists and five steals
Courtesy Vermont Sports Information
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Junior Shanai Heber scored a game-high 14 points and added six rebounds, five assists and five steals to lead the Vermont Catamounts to a 57-50 come-from-behind victory over Hartford at Chase Family Arena.
“I am extremely proud of our effort this afternoon, particularly in the second half,” said Vermont head coach Lori Gear McBride. “Shanai was outstanding and really willed our team to victory. Lauren Buschmann and Lauren Wheeler also gave us great performances. I also thought that the trio of Tierra Shumpert, Kristine Lalonde and Shanai did a great job pressuring the basketball and that changed the complexion of the game.”
The Catamounts erased a 15-point halftime deficit to earn their first America East win of the year. UVM improves to 7-9 overall and 1-2 in league play. Hartford falls to 9-8 overall and 0-3 in America East.
Hartford held a 27-12 advantage at the half. The Hawks shot 40.7 percent from the field, while Vermont shot just 20 percent (6-for-30) from the floor in the first stanza. The Hawks also held a 30-13 edge on the boards at the break.
The Catamounts stormed out of halftime for the second straight game. UVM used a 20-6 run in the opening minutes of the second half to climb back within one of the Hawks. A string of three consecutive 3-pointers, two by Kayla Burchill and one from Tierra Shumpert, cut Hartford's lead to 33-32 with 12:53 remaining.
A three-point play by Lauren Buschmann at the 9:57 mark tied the game up at 35-35. Vermont took its first lead of the game on another layup by Buschmann with 5:42 remaining. Alex Hall sank a pair of free throws at the 4:00 minute mark to knot the game up, 45-45, but the Catamounts answered with a 12-5 run to close out the game and pick up the victory.
In the first half, UVM was scoreless for the first four minutes and Hartford built a 10-4 lead at the 8:59 mark. A layup by Burchill cut the lead to four, but the Hawks closed out the half with a 15-4 run to take a 15-point advantage into the break.
Buschmann added 12 points on 5-for-12 shooting and grabbed six rebounds, while Wheeler chipped in 10 points for the Catamounts.
UVM rebounded from a poor shooting first half to shoot 50 percent from the field in the second stanza and finished the game shooting 35.5 percent. The Catamounts forced the Hawks into 29 turnovers and converted them in 24 points.
Ruthanne Doherty led Hartford with 12 points and six rebounds and Nikkia Smith added 10 points and also had six boards. The Hawks dominated the glass, out rebounding UVM 47-29 in the contest.
Vermont returns to action on Wednesday (Jan. 11) when the Catamounts host Binghamton at 7 p.m. at Patrick Gymnasium. Free live video of the game will also be available via CatamounTV at UVMathletics.com.
NOTES: Hartford had won a five of the last six meetings between the two teams … Vermont picked up its first regular season win over Hartford since Feb. 13, 2008 (69-66) and it was UVM's first regular season win at Hartford since Feb. 24, 2002 (65-57).
