WEST HARTFORD, Conn. - Courtnay Pilypaitis (Ottawa, Ontario) posted her second straight double-double, and achieved the feat for the sixth time in 10 games, with 12 points and a game-high 16 rebounds to lead four Catamounts in double figures as No. 2 Vermont defeated No. 3 Boston University, 69-52, in the America East Women's Basketball Semifinals hosted by the University of Hartford.
The Catamounts advance to their second straight America East Championship Game, which will be played on Saturday (March 13), against either No. 1 Hartford or No. 4 Stony Brook.
Vermont, which has won nine of its last 10 games, moves to 25-6 overall. The 25 victories are the most under head coach Sharon Dawley in her seven seasons on the UVM sideline and the most since the 1999-00 season (25-6).
Vermont missed 12 of its first 17 shots to start the game and Boston University (16-14) took a six point lead, 20-14, on a jumper by Kristen Sims. Vermont answered with a bucket by Lauren Buschmann (St. Catharines, Ontario), which ignited a 16-6 run to close the half and allowed UVM to carry a 32-26 lead into the locker room.
The Terriers opened the second half with a 9-2 run to erase UVM's lead and take a 35-34 lead of their own with 15:51 remaining in the game. Vermont pushed back out in front by six again, 43-37, behind the first career three-pointer from freshman Lauren Wheeler (Ancaster, Ontario). Alex Young answered back for Boston U with a three to slice the lead to, 43-40, with 12:11.
Following Young's three, the Catamounts took control of the game. May Kotsopoulos (Waterloo, Ontario) converted a lay up at the 11 minute mark and ignited a 24-5 run over the next 10:25 to give Vermont a 19-point lead 64-45, with 3:25 left in the game and UVM was able to finish the game out for its school-record 16th win away from Patrick Gymnasium.
Young led all scorers with 14 points and was one of three Terriers in double figures. Caitlynn Moran, an America Eat All-Rookie selection, added 12 points and senior Aly Hinton chipped in 10 points. America East Rookie of the Year Chantell Alford, the America East Rookie of the Year, finished the game with seven points. She entered the game as the second leading scorer in America East (14.9 ppg) and needed 14 points to break the Boston U freshmen scoring record for points in a game.
Kotsopoulos finished the game with 13 points and added a season-high six rebounds. Alissa Sheftic (Essex Junction, Vt.) posted her second straight double-figure scoring game with 10 points and freshman Kendra Seto (Oshawa, Ontario) added 11 points and five rebounds for the Catamounts.
TICKET INFORMATION: Ticket information for the America East Women's Basketball Championship game will be announced on Monday. Please visit UVMathletics.com or contact the UVM Athletic Ticket Office at 802-656-4410. Victory Club members who have questions about ticket availability should contact the Victory Club Office at 802-656-0956.
GAME NOTES: After going 10-for-10 in the first half from the foul line, the Terriers shot just 50 percent from the charity stripe in the second half. Vermont's freshmen scored 10 of the team's first 12 points of the second half. UVM's 26 wins are the third most in school history. The Catamounts 16 wins away from Patrick Gymnasium lead the country. UVM's senior class owns a record of 89-36 and the foursome's 89 wins are the third most in school history by a four-year class. Vermont returns to the America East Championship game for the second straight year and 11th time in the program's history. The Catamounts improve to 9-5 as a No. 2 seed in the America East Tournament.
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