BURLINGTON, VT—NJIT's Leah Horton scored a game-high 17 points but it wasn't enough as Vermont was paced by three double-figure scorers in the Catamounts' 64-42 victory over visiting NJIT on day one of the TD Bank Classic Friday evening at Patrick Gymnasium.

Vermont (2-3) got 12 points apiece from Sydney Smith, Hanna Crymble and Lauren Handy.  Smith, a junior guard, shot 4-for-8 from the field, 2-of-5 from three-point range while dishing out a game-high five assists in the win.  Handy, a sophomore forward, came off the bench for the Catamounts, scoring 12 points in 21 minutes on 4-of-7 from the field, knocked down a pair of three-pointers and finished 2-of-3 from the free throw line.

Catamounts Kallie Banker and Courtney Wright led the home team with six rebounds apiece, as Vermont held a 44-to-33 rebounding advantage over the Highlanders.

NJIT (2-3) forward Leah Horton scored 17 points, one shy her personal-best, shooting 8-for-14 from the field in 27 minutes of action.  Senior guard Alana Dudley added six points and sophomore guard Jordan Ireland scored five points and grabbed six rebounds in 17 minutes of action off the bench.

Redshirt freshman Jillian Libby grabbed a game-best seven rebounds followed by six from Ireland.

Vermont jumped out of the gates early with a 7-2 advantage with 6:11 remaining in the first quarter.  Neither team scored over the next 2:30, until Horton broke the drought with a layup with less than four to go.

The Highlanders pulled within three, 9-6, after a layup by Tatianna Torres, but the Catamounts took a seven-point lead, 13-6, after back-to-back layups by Crymble with 2:04 on the clock.  Dudley knocked down a mid-range jumper, cutting the deficit to five, 13-8, to close out the first quarter.

NJIT's Ireland opened the second quarter, knocking down a three-pointer, pulling the Highlanders to within two, 13-11.  Vermont used a 12-2 spurt taking a double-digit advantage for the first time in the contest, 25-13, after a trey ball by Banker, resulting in an NJIT timeout with 3:12 left in the period.

The Highlanders closed out the second period on a short 4-2 run, on a pair of buckets by Horton, heading into halftime down, 26-17.  Horton led all scorers at the half with 10 points.

The third stanza was played close in the first three minutes, with the Highlanders slimming the deficit to single-digits, 31-22, on a three-pointer by Kelly Guarino.  The Catamounts exploded on a 16-5 run, putting the game out of reach, closing out the third period with a 20-point advantage, 47-27.

The two-day tournament will conclude on Saturday at 5pm when the Highlanders face LIU Brooklyn in the consolation game.  LIU Brooklyn dropped an 88-50 decision to Wisconsin Milwaukee.  Host Vermont and Wisconsin Milwaukee will play in the championship game on Saturday at 7pm.