Johnson, VT — The Northern Vermont University-Johnson women's basketball team soared past the visiting Eagles of Green Mountain College 78-56 to earn their first victory of the season in a balanced team-effort. Both the Badgers and Eagles move to 1-4 on the season after Wednesday's matchup.
Johnson got on the board first after a jump shot from junior Christle Page (South Ryegate, VT) before Green Mountain jumped out to an early 8-2 lead. Johnson battled back and never looked back after a made three-point shot by sophomore guard Jocelyn Pellerin (Keene, NH) gave the Badgers a 9-8 lead. Johnson then went on a 17-9 run to close the first quarter to give the Badgers a 26-17 lead entering the second quarter.
At the start of the second quarter, the Eagles looked to close the gap. Green Mountain tried to capitalize on a slow offensive start by Johnson as the Eagles went on a 5-0 run to shrink the Badgers' lead to four points. Sharp shooting by freshman Amorette Rodriquez (Downey, CA), strong post play by freshman forward Alexandra Barry (Hopewell Jct, NY), and six assists by four separate Badgers helped lead Johnson to a 49-30 lead entering halftime.
Entering the second half, Johnson continued their offensive barrage as they quickly added eight points to extend their lead to 27 halfway through the third quarter. The Badgers outscored Green Mountain 14-8 in the third stanza to push the lead to 63-38 entering the final 10 minutes of action.
With the start of the fourth quarter, the Eagles looked to make a comeback but were denied by the Badgers' relentless defense. Despite outscoring Johnson 18-15 in the final quarter of action, the Eagles were unable to catch the Badgers as Johnson ran away with their first win of the season, 78-56.
Ten of thirteen active players scored for the Badgers and four put up double figures in the victory. Freshman forward Alexandra Barry (Hopewell Jct, NY) led the Badgers as she went 8-12 from the floor and racked up 17 points, six rebounds, and two assists in 19 minutes of action. Junior Lindsey LaPerle (Bethel, VT) and freshman Amorette Rodriquez (Downey, CA) tallied 11 points a piece and senior Mary Richardson (Vernon, VT) added 10 points of her own. Sophomore forward Devin Libby (Burlington, VT) was the top rebounder for Johnson with nine boards. The Badgers had 17 assists on 29 made field goals.
UP NEXT
The Badgers will open conference play at home on Friday, November 30th versus Maine Maritime Academy. The women's game is slated to begin at 7:30pm following the men's 5:30pm matchup.