Former Indiana High School Stars Lead Vermont Women's Basketball Team to 3rd Round of WNIT

Two former Indiana high school basketball stars — Emma Utterback (Zionsville) and Delaney Richason (Center Grove) — have led Vermont women's basketball team to the third round of the WNIT. They'll lead the Catamounts in action on Friday against Colgate.

Vermont's Emma Utterback (23) dribbles the ball down the court during the women's basketball game / BRIAN JENKINS/for the Free Press,

On Friday evening, the Vermont Catamounts women's basketball team will hit the floor against the Colgate Raiders for the third round of the Women's NIT. A big reason for their success this season? Two former Indiana high school basketball stars: Emma Utterback (Greenwood, Ind.) and Delaney Richason (Zionsville, Ind.).

Utterback and Richason are fifth-year seniors at Vermont and they've spent their entire careers with the Catamounts. Both have enjoyed quite a bit of success this season.

Utterback was a first-team All-America East selection this season. She averaged 14.3 points, 3.9 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game. She hit a double-digit scoring total 27 times this season and exceeded the 20-point mark in seven contests during the year.

Richason was an Academic All-America East selection at the end of the 2023-24 season. She averaged 7.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per game for Vermont for the year. She also scored a season-high 16 points against Dartmouth.

Thanks to the efforts from the Indiana natives, Vermont finished the season with a 23-11 record. The Catamounts reached the championship game of the America East Playoffs, coming up just one victory short of an NCAA Tournament berth. Vermont lost to No. 1 seed Maine 64-48 in the title game.

Vermont picked up a big win in the WNIT on Monday, defeating Niagara 69-63. Utterback scored a team-high 17 points, grabbed four rebounds, dished out three assists and had two steals. Richason was responsible for seven points, two rebounds, a block and a steal in the victory.

With the win, the Catamounts will host Colgate on Friday (6 p.m. ET, ESPN-plus) in the third round of the WNIT. The Raiders enter the matchup with a 20-13 record.

Prior to their success at Vermont, both Utterback and Richason were standout players at the Indiana high school level.

As a senior at Center Grove High School in 2018-19, Utterback led her team to a 22-4 record while averaging 12.4 points, 2.6 assists and 2.4 rebounds per contest. She was a three-time sectional champion and was ranked as a top-seven prospect out of Indiana. Utterback is also a member of the Center Grove Athletic Hall of Fame.

Richason led Zionsville High School to four sectional championships during her career. As a senior, she averaged 11.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. She was also a member of a Zionsville team that was the state runner-up in the 2017-18 season.

We'll see if Utterback and Richason can lead Vermont to another victory and continue the Catamounts' run in the WNIT.

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