Vermont women's basketball puts up fight in home date with Oregon

Throughout the first half Vermont women's basketball kept pace with Oregon and looked like an upset was brewing at halftime. In the second half Oregon turned on the jets and used a dominant third quarter to pull away for an 81-56 victory on Wednesday, Nov. 11 at Patrick Gym in front of 920 fans. Still it was a rare treat for those fans to see a Power 4 team play inside Patrick Gym as Ducks head coach Kelly Graves coached a basketball game in his 44th state . This was the first time Oregon played against any team currently in the America East. "It was tremendous to have a team the caliber of Oregon come to Patrick and it was just a great experience for our program, fans and our university," Catamounts head coach Maureen Magarity said. "I'm really pleased with our fight." Vermont entered halftime trailing 35-32 as the Catamounts kept pace on the glass with Oregon. The Ducks had only outrebounded Vermont 15-12. Yet in the third quarter, the Catamounts shot 1-of-12 from the field and Oregon (3-1) took advantage. The Ducks outscored the Catamounts 28-11 in the third quarter. Ehis Etute and Katie Fiso torched the Catamounts in the paint combining for 16 points in the third quarter. Etute posted a double-double with 26 points and 10 rebounds on 11-of-12 shooting from the field, while Fiso scored 18 points. Mallory Heyer contributed 10 points as well for the Ducks. "We have to continue to work on finding a real big inside to match some of these opponents," Magarity said. There was a lot to like about the first 20 minutes of action. Vermont (2-2) went toe-to-toe with Oregon in the first quarter despite not making any three-pointers. Catherine Gilwee, Savanna Creal, and Meja Jagerskog were able to get in the paint for layups, but once the Ducks shutdown the paint, shots became hard to come by. Still the Catamounts nearly erased an 11-point lead in the second quarter with Vermont going on a 17-7 following a timeout in the second quarter. Gilwee (17 points) and Creal (13 points) were the only Catamounts to score over 10 points. Vermont continued running its primary four guard, one forward lineup and Oregon's height advantage was noticeable. The Ducks blocked nine shots and shutdown the three-point line which had been a strength in Vermont's victories . The Catamounts also left some points at the free throw line. Vermont field hockey falls in first round of NCAA tournament Vermont field hockey had a chance to earn the program's first ever tournament victory against Saint Joseph's in the Opening Round of the 2026 NCAA Field Hockey Tournament. Ultimately the Catamounts fell short in a shootout, falling to Saint Joseph's 2-1 with the Hawks winning the shootout 4-3. Saint Joseph's moves on to play top-seeded Northwestern on Friday, Nov. 13. Both of the Catamounts' NCAA Tournament losses have come at Northwestern's Lakeside Field . Vermont (14-6) took a 1-0 lead in the second quarter on Emily Enden's penalty corner goal, but the Hawks shutdown the Catamounts offense in the second half. Vermont only recorded three shots on goal compared to Saint Joseph's seven. The Hawks (12-9) tied the game up in the 50th minute on their lone penalty corner in the fourth quarter. In overtime, Vermont's defense battled away four penalty corners, ultimately forcing a shootout. After winning the America East championship in a shootout , that magic did not continue in Evanston. Contact Judith Altneu at  jaltneu@gannett.com . Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter:  @ Judith_Altneu .