Articles

Vermont Women's Basketball Wins Second Straight in Home Opener Against Fairfield

Details: Created on Thursday, 17 November 2011 04:07; Written by George Commo

Transfer Shanai Heber posted a double-double with game-highs of 17 points and 11 rebounds in her debut at Patrick Gymnasium

Courtesy of Vermont Sports Information

BURLINGTON – Junior Shanai Heber posted a double-double with game-highs of 17 points and 11 rebounds in her debut at Patrick Gymnasium to lead Vermont to a 65-48 victory over Fairfield in non-conference women's basketball action on Wednesday night.

The Catamounts, which did not win back-to-back games last season, opens the 2011-12 campaign with a 2-0 record. Fairfield suffers its first loss of the year and falls to 2-1.

“It's great to get our second win tonight,” said Vermont head coach Lori Gear McBride. “We knew Fairfield was going to be a tough matchup and I'm really pleased with the effort and energy we had. We wanted to use our defensive pressure to set the tone early and we did that and good things happened. We took another step in the right direction tonight.”

Katie Cizynski scored the first basket of the game to put Fairfield up 2-0, but that was the only lead the Stags held in the 40 minutes.

A 3-pointer by Tierra Shumpert gave Vermont a 10-4 lead four minutes into the contest. The Stags cut the margin to two three times over the next four minutes, but could not overtake the Catamounts. Cizynski converted a layup to make the score 14-12 in favor of UVM with 12:02 left, but Vermont pushed the lead to seven, 21-14, after a layup by Lauren Wheeler with 8:15 remaining.

Fairfield cut the lead to four on a 3-pointer by Katelyn Linney, but Vermont answered again with a 7-1 run and went into the locker room with a 28-21 lead at the break.

A layup by Lauren Buschmann five minutes into the second half ignited a 10-0 run which allowed the Catamount to open up the game and take an 18-point lead, 43-25, with 13:45 remaining in the stanza. Vermont maintained its double-digit lead for the rest of the way.

Vermont used a good defensive effort to limit Fairfield to 30.4 percent shooting from the field, including 4-for-23 shooting from three-point range. UVM also forced the Stags into 16 turnovers, resulting in 19 points for the Catamounts.

Buschmann joined Heber in double-digits with 14 points in 20 minutes and extended her double-digit scoring streak to seven games dating back to last year. Freshmen Kayla Burchill and Niki Taylor, both Maine natives, combined for 12 points and 15 rebounds.

Cizynski paced Fairfield with 12 points and 11 rebounds and Taryn Johnson added a team-high 14 points before fouling out.

Vermont continues its four-game homestand hosting the 18th annual TD Bank Classic on November 18-19. St. Joseph's and Dartmouth open up the tournament at 5 p.m. on Friday (Nov. 18) and will be followed by Colgate versus Vermont at 7 p.m. On Saturday (Nov. 19) Colgate takes on Dartmouth at 5 p.m., while St. Joseph's and Vermont close out the action at 7 p.m.

All four games will be streamed online for free via CatamounTV at UVMathletics.com. The UVM games can be heard on WJOY-1230 AM and online at SportsJuice.com.

Tickets for all UVM women's basketball games can be purchased online at UVMathletics.com, via the phone at 802-656-4410 or in person the day of the game.

NOTES: Shanai Heber was the America East Player of the Game … Vermont posted its first win over Fairfield in the all-time series … The Stags entered the game with a 5-0 mark against the Catamounts … Vermont benefited from a 25-for-34 effort from the foul line, while the Stags went to the line just 17 times, making 10 free throws … UVM improved to 38-2 when holding opponents to 59 points or less over the last three seasons … Vermont is 7-0 under head coach Lori Gear McBride when UVM holds opponents under 59 points.