UVM's Championship Central
America East Web Site
Final Score: #4 Vermont 80, #5 Binghamton 65
March 10, 2005 * West Hartford, Conn. * Reich Family Pavilion
America East Quarterfinal Round
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - The University of Vermont women's basketball team set a new America East Tournament record by shooting 63.3% from the floor as the #4-seeded Catamounts defeated #5 Binghamton, 80-65, in the quarterfinals of the 2005 America East Women's Basketball Championship at the University of Hartford this afternoon.

UVM's impressive shooting (31-for-49) from the floor broke Boston University's 15-year-old tournament record of 62.3% (33-for-53), which was set versus Hartford on March 8, 1990.

“We would like to shoot that ball like that everyday,” said Vermont head coach Sharon Dawley, who picked up her first America East Tournament victory this afternoon. “The way we shot the ball today has been coming for a while,” continued Dawley.

Vermont (14-14) trailed just once in the game, 1-0, at the start, but the Bearcats came within two points of the lead on a three-pointer by Nicole Lobach at the 8:55 mark of the first half. UVM answered with an 8-0 run sparked by a three-pointer from Tiffany Spinka (Albany, N.Y.) to push out to a 10-point lead, 27-17, with 5:46 remaining in the half. Binghamton fought back to close the gap to eight, but the Catamounts closed the half with a 9-3 run, on four points from America East All-Rookie selection Alexis Castro (Chula Vista, Calif.) and five points from America East All-Conference Second Team selection Lani Boardman (York, Maine), to take a 41-27 advantage into halftime.

In the second half, Vermont increased its lead to 18, 67-49, with 6:49 remaining in the game. Binghamton (10-18) continued to fight back and put together a 10-1 run, which included four straight points from Jen Haubrich, over 1:49 to cut UVM's lead to nine, 68-59, with 5:27 left in the contest. The Catamounts scored five straight points on a three-pointer by Ashleigh Cuncic (Carlisle, Ontario) and a pair of free throws by Spinka, to seal the victory for Vermont.

“It was great for us to have a buffer going into the half,” said Dawley. “Binghamton is a real good defensive squad and if you have a tough day you won't get any easy hoops. The best victory we had today was withstanding all of their comebacks.”

Boardman led five Catamounts in double-figures with a game-high tying 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting from the field. Senior Katie McNamara (Essex Junction, Vt.) and Cuncic finished the game with 15 points each. McNamara was 7-for-11 from the floor and added six rebounds. Spinka added 11 points, one shy of her career high, and was 3-for-4 from three-point range. Castro chipped in 10 points, three rebounds and four assists off the bench to round out the scoring.

Junior Rachel Laws, an America East All-Conference First Team selection, led the Bearcats with 16 points and six rebounds. Haubrich added 14 points and six boards, while Laine Kurpniece chipped in 10 points.

Binghamton shot 44.9% from the floor in the game and went 1-for-10 from long range in the second half. While the Catamounts shot a sizzling 68% from the field and 66.7% from three-point range in the first half and 56.3% (9-for-16) for the game.

Vermont advances to the America East Semifinals for the first time in two years and will make its 14th appearance overall in the semifinal round. UVM also improved to 9-1 lifetime versus Binghamton and 2-0 versus the Bearcats in tournament action.

The Catamounts will take on #8 Boston U at 6:00pm on Friday. The game can be heard on WJOY, 1230 AM and via the Internet at SportsJuice.com. The game will also be broadcast on NESN on a tape-delay basis at 11:00pm on Friday night.