Vermont women's basketball draws UConn in NCAA Tournament

The University of Vermont women's basketball team is playing powerhouse Connecticut in the NCAA Tournament.

The Catamounts drew the 15 seed and will travel to Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs on Saturday, March 18 to face the second-seeded Huskies in the Seattle 3 region as part of the new two-host format for the regional round. Game time is set for 3 p.m. on ESPN3.

Vermont (25-6) enters its seventh NCAA Tournament, first under coach Alisa Kresge, on a 17-game win streak, the longest since the 1992-93 season and fifth longest in the country.

"We're going to have to focus on the little details. UConn is incredible," Kresge said after the brackets were announced. "They know the game inside and out. You hear Geno (Auriemma), I mean he's one of the greatest coaches there ever was."

The Catamounts held off second-seeded Albany 38-36 on Friday night in a defensive battle for the conference championship. Friday's triumph set a program record for home wins in a season (15), UVM won 14 during the 1991-92, 1999-00 and 2007-08 winters. Vermont has one NCAA Tournament win, a 64-55 final over Wisconsin, during the 2009-10 season.

Previous tournament appearances are: 1992, 1993, 1994, 2000, 2009 and 2010.

Connecticut this season

Connecticut (29-5) just won the Big East tournament, their 21st crown, and enter March Madness looking for its 15th consecutive Final Four appearance.

"UConn is just, what an impressive program and rich history," Kresge said. "They've done so much for the game. I think this is an incredible opportunity for our players and a great place to play. It's going to be an incredible atmosphere."

Huskies' junior Aaliyah Edwards is a semifinalist for player of the year after averaging 16.6 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. Huskies star Azzi Fudd returned to the Big East tournament after missing 14 games with a knee injury. Paige Bueckers, the 2021 player of the year, tore her ACL in August and will not play this season.

Vermont and Connecticut ties

The two programs played each other in the NCAA Tournament in 2009 when Vermont lost 104-65.

Kresge played the Huskies in 2005 during her career at Marist College. Connecticut won the early season matchup 71-45.

"We were really, really lucky in the first half. We were up by one point and then UConn made some good adjustments and there the game went in the second half," Kresge said remembering the meeting.

"We had the utmost respect for them as they deserved. But we were going to fight and that's what I think our team (Vermont) has shown. They know how to fight and that's what we're looking to do."

Vermont guard Catherine Gilwee said she grew up a fan of Connecticut and is excited for the opportunity to play them.

"I think it's exciting to come in as an underdog," Gilwee said. "We have nothing to lose. We're gonna go out there play hard and just try not to worry about the name of who we're playing and just play our game."

Former Rice Memorial star Morgan Valley, who played at Connecticut, is an assistant on Auriemma's staff. Valley will be inducted into the Vermont Principals' Association and Vermont Sports halls of fame later this year.

The Vermont men drew a 15 seed and will play Big East champion Marquette in the first round. They play Friday at 2:45 p.m. on CBS. This is the second time (2010) that both Vermont teams made the Big Dance in the same season. Vermont is one of 25 schools to have both men's and women's teams in the tournament.

"The crowd has been amazing, I think they're the reason why we're standing here today," Kresge said. "They got us through some tough moments and we're really looking forward to having some fans on the road in a really tough environment."

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

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont women's basketball learns NCAA Tournament opponent, site