Box Score

BURLINGTON, Vt. – Vermont broke open a close game with a 20-0 second-half run. Houston Baptist used its own rally with a 15-0 run, but ran out of time to complete the comeback, as Vermont defeated the Huskies, 59-48, on the opening day of Vermont's TD Bank Classic Friday evening at Patrick Gymnasium.

“We are getting closer to really becoming a team unit,” said head coach Mary Gleason. “We need to take care of the ball and get on the boards. When we play together, we are hard to beat. We just have to work harder for longer.

“Tomorrow, we will face a scrappy Rhode Island team,” said Gleason. “We are looking forward to the opportunity to get better as a team.”

Shanice Steenholdt led HBU (2-7) with a double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds. She went 9-for-15 from the floor, 1-for-2 from beyond the arc, and 2-for-3 from the line. Joselyn Pugh scored nine points, going 3-for-4 from the floor and at the charity stripe.

Four Catamounts finished in double figures, led by Annie Wheeler with 12 points for Vermont (3-5). Kylie Atwood scored 11, while Sam Simononis and Lauren Buschman each added 10. Three Catamounts finished with a team-high five rebounds.

Both teams struggled on the offensive end in the early goings of the game, until Steenholdt made a layup to give the Huskies a 2-0 lead just over two minutes into the contest. That basket awoke the Catamounts, who made consecutive threes, followed by a jumper, to lead HBU 8-2 with 16:21 remaining in the opening half, prompting HBU to call a timeout.

After the timeout, HBU used a 6-2 run to trail Vermont 10-8. The teams continued to trade baskets throughout the first as HBU continued to chip away at the Catamount lead. The Huskies came as close as two points on several occasions, the latest comeback coming on an Erin McGarrachan layup following a steal to make the score 26-24 with 5:49 left in the first half.

Steenholdt made an individual play to cut the Catamount lead to just one, 28-27, as Steenholdt blocked a shot, grabbed the rebound, then nailed a trey. With the momentum fully with the Huskies, Vermont called a timeout with 4:53 remaining in the first half.

Neither team could really take advantage of the close contest the remaining time, as Vermont used a small 5-0 run to lead the Huskies at the break, 33-27.

Vermont outscored the Huskies 6-4 in the first six minutes of the second half, as HBU trailed the Catamounts, 39-31. Unfortunately for the Huskies, that basket by Pugh at the 14:26-mark was the last time the Huskies scored until the 5:53-mark, a span of nine minutes. In that span, Vermont outscored the Huskies 20-0 to break the game open at 59-31. A Tayler Jefferson jumper ended the run, as HBU trailed the Catamounts, 59-33, with 5:53 left in the second half.

That seemed to spark the Huskies, as they rattled off 15-straight points to pull within 11, 59-48. But it was too little, too late, as the Huskies could not get any closer.

HBU will conclude the TD Bank Classic Saturday afternoon against Rhode Island. Tip-off is set for a 1pm CST start.