These two teams started out the season heading in completely opposite directions. Through the first three games of each team’s respective schedule, one team was winless and one team was undefeated.
The Massachusetts women’s basketball team (1-4) began the season with a frustrating three-game losing streak that included four overtime periods. The Minutewomen broke the streak Sunday with a 54-51 thriller over Clemson, but could not add to their momentum last night with a disappointing defeat against James Madison.
The University of Vermont (4-1) blew out St. Bonaventure, Canisius and Siena to open the 2001 season at 3-0. UVM was handed its only loss of the season by St. Peter’s – a team that UMass went into overtime with – on the same night that the Maroon and White won its first contest. Vermont then bounced back Wednesday with an 80-60 blowout of Dartmouth.
The Minutewomen struggled with turnovers and poor shooting – both in the field and from the charity stripe – in the losses. The team’s three top players in terms of minutes – juniors Jennifer Butler and Amber Sneed and freshman Katie Nelson – have each committed 18 turnovers so far this season.
It was the team’s strong defense that was keeping the Maroon and White in the contests and finally held Clemson just enough to earn victory number one.
The Catamounts, meanwhile, have been shooting the lights out all season. Leading scorers Morgan Hall and Lani Boardman are both shooting around 90 percent from the free throw line and shooting a combined 15-for-28 (54 percent) from beyond arc. The Vermont defense has been solid as well, allowing just 57 points per contest.
Hall, the team’s best player statistically, is leading Vermont in most categories, including scoring (15.4 ppg), rebounding (7.4 per game), steals (seven) and is tied for the lead in blocks (four).
Boardman, a 6-foot-1-inch freshman, is coming off a 9-for-9 performance from the line against Dartmouth. Usually the first person off the bench for Head Coach Keith Cieplicki, Boardman is second on the team in scoring at 10.2 ppg.
Heading into the weekend, the Maroon and White is out-rebounding its opponents by more than six per game behind Butler’s 11 boards per contest. But beating the Catamounts to the glass will be no easy task, as the team is averaging an impressive 43 rebounds per game.
There is no dominating rebounder on the Vermont squad, just a bunch of players that can collectively dominate the blocks. UVM has four players with five or more rebounds per game and three more at three per game or better.
While the Catamounts have taken almost twice as many three-point attempts as the Minutewomen (73-37), no Vermont player has taken as many threes – Hall leads with 18 – as UMass’ Nelson (20), despite having played one more game than the 5-foot-7-inch point guard. The UVM squad is made up of a lot of women that will not hesitate in taking the long-range jumper (five players have shot nine or more threes this season.)
Butler has accounted for seven of UMass’ 10 blocks this season. The Brooklyn, N.Y. native has also made 14 steals thus far.
Sunday will be UVM Women’s Basketball Poster Day at Patrick Gymnasium. The game will be the second half of a doubleheader that also features the men’s game against Lehigh.
