Moving Up a Little Higher
As last season drew to a close, Vermont (America East) and Minnesota were on track for a WNIT championship confrontation. St. Louis derailed that momentum in the WNIT semifinals by edging the Catamounts in Burlington, Vermont 57-54. Then, for good measure, the Billikens rolled past the Gophers 69-50 in the final.
How the Catamounts and Gophers would’ve matched up is an open question; but it should be noted that Vermont advanced to the WNIT semifinals by defeating Purdue 67-59 a team Minnesota eked past 60-58 earlier in the season. Even though Minnesota is 10-0 versus America East teams, defeating the Gophers last Spring may have required only a short cat leap.
Vermont finished 3rd behind Maine and Albany in America East with a 12-4 record (25-12 overall). In the conference tournament, Maine defeated Vermont 64-48 for the America East title and the automatic NCAA berth leaving Vermont with a WNIT bid.
The Catamounts return three starters from last season’s squad plus welcome the return of a point guard.
Leading Vermont into the season is a 6’1” graduate forward from Monticello, Minnesota, Anna Olson. Except for two senior nights, Olson has started every game of her career. She was all conference 1st team as a junior and 2nd team all-conference as a senior averaging 11.6 points and 6.1 rebounds in 31.8 minutes per game.
Also returning is 5’8” junior guard Keira Hanson the reigning America East 6th Player of the Year. Hanson’s scoring improved during the conference play to 11.3 points per game. She was a three-point threat dropping 34-88 (.386).
Joining Hanson in the back court is 5’9 junior guard Bella Vito. Playing the point last season, she averaged 4.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 27.7 minutes per game. Her highwater mark was 14 points and 11 rebounds in the WNIT win over Purdue.
Returning to the lineup after missing a year because of injury is 5’8” red shirt junior point guard Catherine Gilwee. In 2022-23 she averaged 10.6 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. Gilwee knocked down 74 threes (she hit at a .385 clip).
One of the newcomers welcomed by the Catamounts is 5’7” senior guard and transfer from D2 St. Thomas Aquinas, Sarah Erickson. They’re hoping her 16 points and 8.2 rebounds per game make the jump to D1.
This is the third meeting between Vermont and Minnesota. In the first, the Gophers prevailed 74-59 at Williams in November 2006. The second, a 90-58 Minnesota home win on November 11, 2019, featured two second year head coaches and former point guards: Minnesota’s Lindsay Whalen and Vermont’s Alisa Kresge.
Before facing Vermont in 2019, Minnesota dropped their home opener to an upwardly mobile Missouri State team. Romping past the Catamounts launched the Gophers on an eleven-game winning streak including victories over Notre Dame and Arizona State. That was as good as it got. Minnesota, struck by inner turmoil, went 5-14 before the pandemic brought down the curtain.
Alisa Kresge’s coaching career has a pandemic split. Pre-pandemic she was named interim head coach for the 2018-19 season and was 11-18 (7-9 in AE). The year Vermont played Minnesota, the interim tag was removed and the Catamounts finished 12-18 (6-10 in AE). The pandemic limited the 2020-21 season to six games. Then things got good for Kresge, the former Marist point guard who was named MAAC Defensive Player of the Year three times.
In 2021-22 Vermont tied for third in AE with a 13-5 conference record (20-11 overall). That was followed by America East regular season and tournament titles in 2022-23. The reward was getting smoked by UConn 95-52 in the NCAA opening round.
Last season, Vermont slipped back to third in the AE. However, Kresge says it’s time to upgrade the competition. Vermont, which led the AE in defense holding conference opponents to 51 points per game, will be tested out of the gate. Before traveling to Williams Arena the Catamounts will host Missouri. That’s a short week of immediate feedback.
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