UVM women's basketball seals first America East championship since 2010

Alisa Kresge can recall the exact moment her team looked the championship part.

But for the University of Vermont women’s basketball team a 13-year detour from title contention needed more than optics for redemption.

“There's definitely been a shift in the culture here,” Kresge said. “Players are bought into doing it the right way and working hard, that nothing's going to be handed to you. I felt like that in the summer, we had a group that was in the gym more than I've ever seen and it starts there.”

The Catamounts, in Kresge’s words, were rough to start the season. They dropped two of three to start before winning six straight.

And then conference play began.

“I think our offense needs to be better, but we were bought in defensively and then Albany happened,” Kresge said. “And I was like, well, we got a real problem here.”

Vermont was thrashed by the defending champions and then fell at home to Maryland-Baltimore County. The Catamounts weren’t the team Kresge thought she had.

“We go to Bryant on the road, kind of (feeling) like we're not gonna win a conference game,” Kresge said. “And in the locker room, I had two options, go in there as normal Kresge or lose my mind.

“I have to do something different, it wasn't working and I got after them.”

Vermont beat Bryant at the buzzer, they’ve beaten everyone since and proved Kresge’s premonitions true as the top-seeded Catamounts (25-6) outlasted No. 2 Albany in a defensive slugfest 38-36 to seize the conference championship game in front of 2,502 at Patrick Gym on Friday night.

The Catamounts, winners of 17 games in a row, will learn their site and opponent for the NCAA Tournament during Selection Show on Sunday night. The title, the lowest scoring championship game in league history, is Vermont's first since 2010 and the seventh overall in program history.

“Every time we challenged them, they step up to the challenge,” Kresge said. “So I knew we had something special, (but) I didn't know what that would turn into.”

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With 1:04 left in regulation and leading 34-31, Anna Olson denied Ellen Hahne’s attempt in the lane, Delaney Richason scooped the loose ball and found Emma Utterback, who raced down the floor before getting fouled with under a minute remaining as Catamount fans rose with anticipations.

“It's a lot easier to have confidence in defense and go hard and it's OK if you get beat because you have a teammate there to help,” Olson said.

Utterback, who was the tournament’s most outstanding player and finished with a game-high 18 points, made 1 of 2 from the line and on the second attempt, Olson rushed in from the right block and grabbed one of her career-high 16 rebounds and kicked-out leading to another Albany foul. After the sequence Vermont led 36-31 with 38 seconds left.

“The physicality of Vermont, bumping us and pushing us … I couldn't believe the physicality on both ends,” Albany coach Colleen Mullen said.

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Poor foul shooting down the stretch by Vermont (10 of 19 for the game) kept Albany’s hopes alive and with nine seconds remaining Helene Haegerstrand canned a wing trey off an inbounds pass from Grace Heeps to make it 37-36.

But for Utterback and Vermont, which led for three quarters, the worries ended at Bryant. They already exercised their losses.

“We got it. We’re good,” Utterback said coolly of the Great Danes’ late basket. “I mean, obviously I was a little nervous, I'm not gonna lie. But I have the utmost faith in my team. … We prepared and practice these special situations all the time. I had no doubt that we were going to pull it out.”

In a defensive masterclass showing by Vermont — plays like Olson’s or Bella Vito’s denial with 21 seconds left — pushed Vermont to the title.

"Defense is something we work hard on every single day in practice. The coaches get on us and they are very, very detailed," Utterback said. "But it’s for reasons like today because if you are not detailed, then maybe we don’t win games like today."

Olson’s 16 boards were one short of tying a championship record as UVM won the rebounding margin 53-36.

“Sometimes I'm telling her you're getting killed, stop being that tough, you're getting killed,” Kresge said of Olson. “But thankfully Anna is who she is, and she was just a monster for us defensively and rebounding.”

Vermont built its fourth-quarter lead after Albany crept back into the contest on Kayla Cooper’s basket in the paint and Haegerstrand swished a trey from the top of the key. The 5-point swing pulled the Great Danes to 30-22 with 7:07 remaining.

And then the defense arrived again.

Vermont forced a late shot clock attempt by Albany and UVM set up in the half court with Olson (9 points) working the baseline and finishing a reverse layup. On the next possession, Catherine Gilwee stripped Cooper and dished full court to Utterback for a breakaway layup with 5:09 remaining in regulation to put UVM ahead 34-22.

“As a coach you're excited about when you have players that love basketball, want to be in the gym and that would do anything for themselves,” Kresge said. “You knew through tough times, if they really cared about each other they're going to find a way to do it together.”

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Vito and Delaney Richason both grabbed 10 boards as Vermont won the rebounding margin for the first time vs. Albany this season.

“It's just been something that has changed in them and we talked a lot about, if we wanted to win this game … we had to win the boards,” Kresge said.

Vermont shot 13 of 56 from the field and 2 of 16 from beyond the arc.

Albany finished 24.6% from the floor with Cooper (12 points) and Haegerstrand (10 points) pacing the Great Danes.

Olson joined Utterback on the conference all-championship team. Cooper and Ellen Hahne (7 points, 4 rebounds) were also selected, along with Anne Simon of Maine.

“This can be what Vermont women's basketball is all about and we're starting it today,” Utterback said.

Contact Jacob Rousseau at JRousseau@gannett.com. Follow on Twitter@ByJacobRousseau.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont women's basketball survives to seize America East crown