The University of Vermont women’s basketball team couldn’t find any rhythm in Friday’s America East championship game.
That’s because Maine controlled every beat.
From stifling defense, rebounding and a deafening home-crowd atmosphere, the top-seeded Black Bears led wire to wire to unseat the defending champion Catamounts 64-48 at sold-out Memorial Gymnasium, cruising into the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in five years.
It’s also a league-record 10th championship for Maine in its 23rd appearance in the title round.
“There are a lot of people on our roster who have seen both sides of this — how fun it can be and how much it can hurt,” Vermont coach Alisa Kresge said. “We gotta build off this. We are going to grow and learn from this.”
Four players reached double figures for the Black Bears: Adrianna Smith (16 points, eight rebounds), Anne Simon (15 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two steals), Sarah Talon (12 points, five rebounds, three assists) and Oliva Rockwood (10 points, six rebounds).
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Smith tallied 10 first-quarter points and Simon was named the tournament’s most outstanding player for the Black Bears (24-9).
The Black Bears opened an 18-11 first-quarter lead, took a 34-25 advantage into the halftime break and then opened a 20-point margin early in the fourth quarter to deny Vermont its bid for back-to-back crowns.
Maine also shot 45% from the floor, held Vermont to 37.5% shooting, owned a 37-27 edge on the glass and scored 16 points off 13 Catamount turnovers.
For Vermont (22-11), Anna Olson was the lone Catamount player in double figures with 21 points and seven boards on 9 of 15 shooting. Star guard Emma Utterback, a three-time America East first-team selection, scored six points on 3 of 14 shooting to go with six assists and two steals.
“This doesn’t define who we are. It was a rough game, but overall I’m proud of how our season’s been,” Utterback said.
Ahead 24-20 with 2:47 left in the half, Maine seized control of a tight title game on a critical swing call. Driving into the lane with a spin move, Utterback was called for an offensive charge — instead of a blocking foul on Maine’s Simon — to force the Catamount guard to head to the bench with two fouls.
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Maine quickly took advantage without Utterback on the floor. Paula Gallego (nine points) splashed a 3-pointer and Talon also knocked down a trey to bookend Maine’s 10-2 spurt for a 34-22 advantage. Vermont’s Andjela Matic drilled a triple just before the halftime horn to provide some momentum heading into the half.
In the second half, Maine separated with a 11-4 run, highlighted by Rockwood, a former Windsor High School star, cutting into the lane and finishing feeds for layups on back-to-back trips. The Maine lead grew to 20 points, 56-36, with 6:47 on the clock in the fourth.
“We knew it was going to be aggressive, they were going to get into our shorts and they were going to deny stuff,” Kresge said. “But I think sometimes we got tired and flat-footed and they made the most of the plays. Those turnovers hurt.
“That’s the stuff that is frustrating and I know we’ll look back and wish we can change it. But it is what it is.”
Vermont staged one comeback bid: Utterback’s long jumper, Olson’s post finish and Keira Hanson’s driving layup cut the deficit to 58-46 with 3:53 to go. But Smith answered out of a timeout with an uncontested layup on a Caroline Bornemann pass, followed by Talon’s putback to push the Black Bears to 13 second-chance points and 30 total points in the paint.
This winter, Vermont overcame the loss of point guard Catherine Gilwee, who suffered a knee injury last spring, and were ranked second nationally in scoring defense.
“The fact that we got to this point is very hard to do especially two years in a row,” Utterback said. “Regardless of the ups and the downs, the fact that we are here and the fact that we gave it all we had — I’m really proud of us.”
Fifth-year seniors Utterback and Delaney Richason set a program record for most games played at 132. They arrived on the Burlington campus in 2019 and helped spark a turnaround: Vermont seized three straight 20-win seasons and ended a 13-year championship drought with last winter’s run to the NCAA Tournament.
The Indiana natives took a chance on Kresge, then the interim coach, and Vermont despite the program’s prolonged stretch of losing.
“I couldn’t say enough about what these two have done for our community, our program, our team, myself. They are the ultimate student-athletes,” Kresge said. “They set the tone academically, they set the tone in the locker room, they set the tone being on time. Everything you want from a leader, they’ve done for us.
“They do it right, no matter what.”
Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @aabrami5.
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: America East women’s basketball championship: Maine unseats Vermont
