WOMEN'S BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK
The Vermont women's basketball team plays three home games in the span of five days at Patrick Gym, starting with a matchup against Norwich on Wednesday (Nov. 15) for the home opener at 7 p.m. The Catamounts also host Howard on Friday (Nov. 17) at 4 p.m. and Columbia on Sunday (Nov. 19) at 2 p.m. 
 
The women's basketball broadcast on Wednesday night can be streamed for free on AmericaEast.TV. The games on Friday and Sunday will be available on ESPN3 by logging in through your cable provider. All three games can also be heard on WVMT 620-AM, and online at CatamounTV.com. Both games feature Logan Ratick, the Voice of UVM women's basketball, on play-by-play.
 
Tickets are available online at UVMathletics.com/Tickets, over the phone at 802-656-4410, or in person at the UVM Athletic Ticket Office in Patrick Gym.
 
RELATED LINKS
Video: Norwich | Howard | Columbia
Homestand: Audio | Live Stats | Tickets
Game Notes: Norwich

GAMEDAY PROMOTIONS
On Friday, all fans in attendance will receive a free schedule magnet for the 2017-18 season. Sunday is Team Poster Day presented by UVM Print and Mail. Stay after the game to receive a free team poster and meet the team for an autograph session. 

LAST TIME OUT
Vermont opened the regular season this past weekend with road games at Dartmouth and Miami (FL). The Catamounts fell 66-56 to the Dartmouth Big Green in the season opener. Cassidy Derda led the team with 15 points on five three-point makes in her first game with UVM. Vermont lost at No. 24 Miami in its first-ever meeting with the Hurricanes on Sunday. Kristina White led the way with 11 points. 

CATAMOUNTS ADD FOUR FRESHMEN TO ROSTER
The Catamounts welcome aboard four newcomers for the coming season. Freshmen Dani Lozzi (5-10, G, Horsham, England), Josie Larkins (5-9, G, Lincroft, New Jersey), Kianna Funderburk (5-9, G, Charlotte, North Carolina) and Carmen Handy (6-3, F, Sarnia, Ontario, Canada) have joined the team. In addition, junior Cassidy Derda (6-2, F, South Burlington, Vermont) will play this season. Derda sat out 2016-17 after transferring from St. Francis Brooklyn.
 
SCOUTING NORWICH
The Norwich Cadets (Division III) women's basketball team has not played a Division I opponent since the 1990's. The private military college, located 50 miles southeast of Burlington in Northfield, Vermont, is recognized by the United States Department of Defense as the "Birth Place of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) and was founded in 1819.
 
The Cadets went 16-11 in the 2016-17 season and were 9-7 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference play. They averaged 58.6 points per game while shooting 38% from the field and 25% from distance. Last year's top-two scorers for the Cadets, Heather LeBlanc (17.9 PPG) and Kayla Mercer (9.6 PPG), were seniors. The lead returning scorer is senior guard, Shyanna Josler (9.0 PPG).
 
Norwich adds eight freshmen to the roster this season and is led by just three seniors. Its head coach, Mark Zacher, is in his ninth season at the helm.
 
SCOUTING HOWARD
The Bison went 16-13 in the 2016-17 season and held a 12-4 record in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Last year, they only had three players score 10 PPG or higher, all of whom were seniors. The top returning scorer is Imani Bryant, who averaged 6.4 PPG last season as a freshman.

As a team, Howard averaged 64.8 points per game last season. The Bison shot 38% from the floor, 26.7% from three-point range and 66.7% from the free throw line in 2016-17. They also averaged 9.3 steals per game. Five freshmen were added to the roster for the current campaign.
 
SCOUTING COLUMBIA
Last season was not as kind to Columbia as the previous opponents. The Lions finished the campaign 13-14 with a 3-11 record in conference play. This will be the Catamounts' second and final Ivy League opponent of the season.
 
The Lions averaged 64.1 points per game last season and shot 39% from the field, 30% from downtown and 76% at the line. However, they averaged 4.4 more turnovers per game than their opponents with 17.5 per contest.
 
Columbia returns its leading scorer, senior Camille Zimmerman, who averaged 22.5 PPG last year. She was the 2016-17 All Met Division I Women's College Basketball Player of the Year in the New York City area and was a Unanimous First Team All-Ivy League selection. Zimmerman is one of three seniors and the Lions' roster contains four freshmen. Megan Griffith is in her second season as head coach.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Vermont has never played Norwich University in a women's basketball game. The Catamounts are 0-1 all-time against the Howard Bison. That meeting came in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 30, 2016 and resulted in a 64-57 UVM loss. Vermont is 4-1 in the all-time series with Columbia. Last time out, the Catamounts lost 73-56 to the Lions in New York City. UVM won the last meeting between the two teams at Patrick Gym by a 46-40 final on Nov. 11, 2012.
 
NEXT UP
The Catamounts host the annual TD Bank Classic on Thanksgiving weekend this season. The tournament begins on Friday, Nov. 24 when Vermont faces American University at 5 p.m. If they win, the Catamounts play in the championship game on Saturday, Nov. 25 at 7 p.m. against the winner of James Madison and Villanova. The losing teams from Friday will play in a consolation game on Saturday at 5 p.m.