Women's Basketball Drops 63-59 Heartbreaker to Vermont on Senior Night

Thursday, February 25

Durham, N.H.

7 PM

University of New Hampshire

11-17, 5-10AE

University of Vermont

8-20, 3-12AE

Vermont

New Hampshire

Photo by: Paige O'Donnell

Women's Basketball Drops 63-59 Heartbreaker to Vermont on Senior Night

2/25/2016 10:28:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

DURHAM, N.H. – Senior guard Elizabeth Belanger (Acton, Mass.) scored 21 points, but University of New Hampshire women's basketball dropped a 63-59 heartbreaker to the University of Vermont on Thursday night in Lundholm Gymnasium.

UNH fell to 11-17 overall and 5-10 in America East. Vermont improved to 8-20 overall and now is 3-12 in the league. The Catamounts earned a regular-season series sweep over the Wildcats.

NEXT UP

The Wildcats travel to UMBC for the final regular-season contest on Sunday, Feb. 28 at 1 p.m. The America East tournament opens with quarterfinal games at the Events Center at Binghamton University on Saturday, March 5. Tickets are available by calling the Binghamton box office at (607) 777-2849.

HIGHLIGHTS

Belanger's 21 points mark her tenth 20+-point scoring game this season.
Senior Stephanie Spoto (Pittsford, N.Y.) had an impressive Senior Night, notching her first career double-digit rebounding game. The forward tallied 12 boards and nine points.
Sophomore Peyton Booth (Wadsworth, Ohio) tied her career-high with four assists for the second time in as many games.
Freshman Ashley Storey (Cumberland, Maine) tallied 13 points and seven rebounds off the bench. She also tied her career-high of three blocks.
Junior Kristen Anderson (Greene, Maine) dished out seven assists on the night, her highest total since she had nine against Sacred Heart on Nov. 18, 2015.
Belanger, Booth, and Storey all recorded two steals for the Wildcats.
Sophomore Carlie Pogue (Cincinnati, Ohio) scored all eight of her points in the third quarter.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Wildcats got off to a strong start and led for the entire game, up until the final minutes. Belanger's layup to put the Wildcats up by eight with 5:46 remaining was the final basket New Hampshire scored. An ensuing 12-0 run for Vermont led to their first lead of the night and sealed the victory. Sydney Smith (19 points) and Candice Wright (21 points) each scored five points in the final minutes to lead the Catamounts to victory.

After leading at 30-21 at halftime, the Wildcats were able to open the largest lead of the night in the third quarter. Back-to-back jumpers from Carlie Pogue after a quiet first half and a three-pointer from Booth gave UNH a 14 point lead.

Vermont was able to hang around, mostly because of Wright, who scored 10 points on 3-for-3 shooting in the third frame. The Catamounts gained momentum going into the fourth quarter when Smith hit a three at the buzzer and pulled the score to 52-46.

-POSTGAME NOTES-

UNH STARTERS (SEASON/CAREER STARTS)
So. G Peyton Booth (16/16)
Sr. G Elizabeth Belanger (28/104)
So. G Aliza Simpson (25/47)
Sr. F Stephanie Spoto (2/7)
So. C Carlie Pogue (27/35)

GROUP'S RECORD: 0-1

SERIES INFO

UNH dropped its overall series record to 36-43 against Vermont.

ATTENDANCE: 313

TEAM NOTES

The Wildcats made 34.4 percent (21-for-61) of their field goals.
Vermont made 40.7 percent (24-for-59) of theirs.
Vermont held a 32-20 advantage in points in the paint.
The Wildcats were outrebounded for only the fifth time this season, 43-39.
UNH had 13 assists on its 21 field goals.
UNH recorded eight steals, while Vermont had only two.
The Wildcats were three-for-fifteen in three-pointers.
Vermont made three of its 16 treys.
Vermont had a 46-16 advantage in scoring off the bench.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

UNH

Elizabeth Belanger: 21 points / 8-for-8 free throws / 2 steals
Ashley Storey: 13 points / 5-for-10 field goals / 3 blocks / 2 steals
Stephanie Spoto: 9 points / 12 rebounds
Carlie Pogue: 8 points / 5 rebounds
Peyton Booth: 3 points / 4 rebounds / 4 assists
Kristen Anderson: 3 points / 7 assists

Vermont

Candice Wright: 21 points / 7-for-8 field goals / 7 rebounds
Sydney Smith: 19 points / 4 rebounds / 1 steal
Hayley Robertson: 9 points / 7 assists / 7 rebounds
Kylie Butler: 6 points / 4 rebounds

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