Vermont women's basketball's roster breakdown for 2024-25 season

Reload or rebuild?

That's a tough question to answer for Vermont women's basketball head coach Alisa Kresge .

Vermont followed up its 2023 America East championship and first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2010 with a runner-up finish this past winter, falling at Maine in the league final . Vermont also raced into the WNIT Fab Four to prolong its season .

With Indiana natives Emma Utterback and Delaney Richason completing a five-year, program turnaround — plus the departure of underclassmen Zenia Palaska, Paula Gonzalez and Andjela Matic, all of whom opted to enter the transfer portal — the Catamounts return nine scholarship players while welcoming eight newcomers to Burlington this summer.

"I’m not sure what you would label it as," Kresge said during an interview in her office last week. "It’s a good balance. We do still have a strong core, but we have young players who are going to have to contribute for us."

To get a better sense of the 2024-25 Catamounts squad, here's a roster breakdown and an early look at the nonconference schedule:

Vermont basketball's returnees

Catherine Gilwee

One year after tearing her ACL, Catherine Gilwee is fully cleared and ready to assume the starting point-guard spot for the Catamounts for the upcoming season. The former Champlain Valley Union High Star who was the America East rookie of the year in 2022 embraced a leadership role during a year on the bench, Kresge said.

"What’s really impressive so far, she’s quicker, stronger than she’s ever been," Kresge said. "She’s moving literally better than she’s ever moved for us. She hasn’t skipped a beat, if anything she’s better."

Keira Hanson

The reigning America East sixth player of the year was a big bright spot for the Catamounts last season, averaging 8.1 points and 1.4 assists a game. The 5-foot-8 guard scored a career-high 20 points vs. Maine during the regular season and led Vermont in 3-pointers made (51).

"Keira is going to have to step up in a way that there is a little more pressure. She’s going to be important for us on both sides of the ball," Kresge said.

Lexi Kerstein

Lexi Kerstein, a 5-foot-6 guard and former Illinois high school all-state player, redshirted last winter.

"She is really growing and developing. She’s stronger and she’s hard to defend, shifty," Kresge said. "She’s working hard and hungry to provide for the team."

Nika Kurdija

Like Kerstein, Nika Kurdija also redshirted last season. But the 5-foot-9 Croatian was injured and is still recovering, according to Kresge.

"She's not fully where she needs to be in terms of being healthy. But does all the little things," Kresge said.

Sarah Lazar

A 6-foot-3 forward and transfer from St. Louis, Sarah Lazar saw action in 14 games last winter in her first year in Burlington. The Wisconsin native will be expected to provide a frontcourt presence.

"She has an inside, outside game. She’s somebody who is going to have to help us this year," Kresge said.

Malia Lenz

Malia Lenz's first season at Vermont included playing 21 games off the bench, averaging 10.1 minutes per game. Kresge said Lenz is a candidate to play as a "stretch 4."

"She's a bigger, stronger guard who can muscle forwards," Kresge said.

Anna Olson

Anna Olson returns for a fifth and final season in Burlington. Last year, the 6-foot-1 Olson surpassed 1,000 career points and made the America East second team after averaging 11.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.0 blocks a game in a career-high 37 starts.

Olson is also currently preparing to take the MCATs.

"She’s definitely been a huge piece, a core to the team with an inside balance," Kresge said. "She walked into the gym this summer and has been very assertive."

Nikola Priede

The 6-foot-2 Nikola Priedge appeared in all 37 games last winter, a key bench player who set career-highs in averages for minutes (12.4), blocks (0.7) and rebounds (2.5).

"She's probably the best athlete we have in the post," Kresge said. "I'm really excited for her development. She's working hard and you can tell there is something different right now about her."

Bella Vito

Bella Vito is Vermont's unsung hero, and she proved that label last winter when she "saved our season in some ways" by moving to point guard, according to Kresge. The 5-foot-9 Vito started all 37 games, averaging 4.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.4 steals a game. She also closed the season playing the best basketball of her career, tallying double doubles against Purdue and St. Louis, respectively, in the WNIT Great Eight and Fab Four.

"She’s a competitive and a winner. It’s her last year and she’s going to make the absolute most of it," Kresge said. "Her power and her quickness are getting better."

Vermont basketball's newcomers

Natalie Beaudoin

A Maine Miss Basketball finalist from Lewiston, Beaudoin averaged 17.0 points and 9.2 rebounds a game in her final year of high school.

"Natalie’s a big guard who can really shoot, create her own shot and somebody who can help stretch the floor," Kresge said. "We could go four guards and she’s the stretch 4 in that theory."

Julia Blanck

Old teammates with Gilwee from their CVU days, Blanck transfers in as a walk-on graduate student from D-III Skidmore, where she reaped Liberty player and defensive player of the year honors.

"She’s looking good. She’s an athlete who plays hard. There’s a learning curve with a new system, but I’ve been pretty impressed so far," Kresge said. "She has that Bella-mentality. She makes us more athletic."

Savanna Creal

An 1,000th-point scorer at Hamilton High School in Arizona, Creal has a chance to find minutes in her freshman year in Burlington.

"She's another athlete who gets downhill and runs the floor incredibly well," Kresge said. "She’s somebody we can see developing and being part of the rotation."

Sarah Ericson

A transfer from St. Thomas Aquinas, Ericson claimed back-to-back All-Met Division II player of the year awards and is coming off season averages of 16.0 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists a game. Ericson has one year of eligibility at UVM and will likely share some point-guard duties with Gilwee.

"She's a scoring guard who can handle and has a high IQ," Kresge said. "She's put up some really impressive numbers."

Gaby Eversley-Holland

Gaby Eversley-Holland, a walk-on for Vermont, was a four-year starter and two-year captain who made 75 straight starts for her high school team, Jackson-Reed, in Washington, D.C.

Emma Haan

Emma Haan hails from the same high school as Richason, Zionsville, where Haan was an Indiana all-star who holds the program's single season and career records for 3-pointers. Haan's expected to serve as a back-up point guard.

"She plays really hard and can definitely score from the perimeter," Kresge said. "There is a learning curve, for the college game and speed, but it's something she is working on. She's a competitor."

Piper Risdon

Piper Risdon scored 1,000 career points and is the all-time rebounding leader for Lowell High School in Michigan.

"She another good rebounder and shot blocker, and she brings a perimeter game," Kresge said. "We’ll see where our system takes her. She’s somebody who could really help with us losing (Richason) at the 4."

Devon Yarde

Walk-on Devon Yarde was a four-time state champion and four-time all-region first-team selection from South Carolina who scored 1,000 career points.

The Catamounts' nonconference schedule — so far

Kresge and her staff are still finalizing their nonconference slate, but here are games that are locked in as of mid-July:

Monday, Nov. 4: vs. Missouri (home opener)

Tuesday, Nov. 12: vs. Providence

Nov. 28-30: Cancun Challenge

Date TBD: at Minnesota

Date TBD: at Buffalo

Date TBD: at Princeton

Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com . Follow him on Twitter: @aabrami5 .

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont women's basketball's roster breakdown for 2024-25 season