Even with former first-team All-America East Alexis Castro transferring to play Division II ball, Vermont still made noise this season.

Fighting through a rough final month of the season which saw the Catamounts drop five of seven, the Vermont women’s basketball team (18-11, 8-8 AE) enters the America East tournament in the third seed and a threat to powerhouses Stony Brook and Hartford.

Vermont’s offense was second-best in the conference, averaging 66.3 ppg and led by guards Brittney Cross, a senior and third on the team with 9.7 ppg, and Courtnay Pilypaitis, a freshman who leads the team with 13.2 ppg.

Vermont was also the conference’s greatest band of thieves, leading in steals at 10.86 per game en route to the best turnover margin as well, with Cross stealing a team-high 69.

From the floor UVM was mediocre, finishing sixth in the conference in field goal percentage and fifth from beyond the arc, but had the second-most second-chance opportunities in the conference as sophomore forward Andrea Cihal brought in 5.3 rpg.

Vermont knocked off first-round opponent UMBC the first time the two met, 46-38, but dropped the second decision, 80-72. Vermont was 1-3 against the two higher seeds, splitting the season series with the Hawks (winning by two points in overtime in their first meeting) while being swept by the Seawolves.

UVM rattled off win streaks of at least four games in each of November, December and January before its February stutter.