BOXSCORE

West Hartford, CT - Red-shirt sophomore guard Katie Meinhardt (San Francisco, CA) scored a game-high 32 points as No. 8 Boston University downed No. 4 Vermont, 70-63, in an America East Championship semifinal game at the Chase Family Arena on Friday, March 11.

With the victory, B.U. (15-15, 7-11) advances to the title game for the third consecutive season. The Terriers will play second-seeded and host Hartford, which rolled past third-seeded Vermont, 52-38.

The winner of the Terrier-Hartford game will receive the Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

B.U. led by as many as 16 in the first half and went into the break with a 34-25 advantage. Meinhardt scored 19 of her game-high 32 points in the first half, hitting 6-of-9 from the field.

Vermont (14-15, 9-9) opened the second half with a 13-4 run, cutting the deficit to 39-38 at 15:02. The Catamounts continued to battle, taking their first lead of the game, 47-46, at 9:28. A three-pointer by Tiffany Spinka pushed the Catamounts ahead, 50-46, at 8:16. The two teams traded the lead for the next four minutes until a three-pointer by Meinhardt put the Terriers in front, 56-53, at 3:11. B.U. did not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the game, sinking 10-of-12 free throws over the final 2:38 of play.

Meinhardt hit 9-of-15 from the floor and 10-of-12 from the free throw in the game. Over the first three games in the tournament, the 5-foot-9 guard has averaged 28.3 points per game.

B.U. also benefited from the play of freshman guard Cheri Raffo (Asbury, NJ), who scored a career-high 17 points off 6-of-8 shooting from the field. Junior guard Rachael Vanderwal (Stoney Creek, ONT) scored in double-figures for the ninth time in 10 games, contributing 12 points. Senior forward Adrienne Norris (Delafield, WI) led the Terriers in rebounding for the 22nd time this season, grabbing 11 boards.

Boardman paced the Catamounts with 31 points and 11 rebounds. Ashleigh Cuncic added 10 points off the bench.