A homecoming for Vermont coach

Sharon Dawley grew up in Revere, but now that she's coaching 3 1/2 hours away at the University of Vermont, it's hard for her to make it back home very often.

So, whenever her women's basketball team travels to Boston University, as the Catamounts will on Saturday in the second America East game for both teams, it's always a homecoming for the sixth-year head coach.

Her cousins number around "a million," she says, and they all flood the arena. She has an uncle, Jimmy Dawley, who's been in a wheelchair the past six years, and the family rents a special van to make sure he's there.

"It's pretty exciting," she said, but at the same time she added, "With all that excitement though, you get a little more nervous, too."

With winning records in all but one season under Dawley, and top three finishes in each of the past two seasons, this year appeared to be tipping point for a talented Catamounts squad, picked as the conference favorite before the season.

"It's nice to be picked number one, but in the big picture it's just the poll," Dawley said, pointing out the league is too deep to win on talent alone.

Dawley's roster already boasts one 1,000-point scorer in junior guard Courtnay Pilypaitis (14.5 ppg), and two others, junior May Kotsopoulos (14.6) and senior guard Amy Rosenkrantz (8.9) are within 80 points of 1,000.

Vermont's 6-7 start seems disappointing unless you also look at a schedule that includes No. 10 Louisville and No. 18 Florida. The Catamounts opened their conference schedule Wednesday against league-leading Maryland-Baltimore County (8-5). But with the title being up for grabs for any of the teams in the top half, the matchup vs. the 6-6 Terriers is just as important.

Dawley was one of the greatest athletes to come through Pope John XXIII High School in Everett, earning 11 varsity letters, making all-star teams in volleyball and basketball, as well as serving as a team captain in every sport, including track and softball. She was named the school's top scholar-athlete in 1979 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1991.

Being back in familiar territory this weekend will be another motivator.

"You always want to play well," she said. "But then you want to play even better than that because your family's there, and then you're so proud of the kids that you hope they bust out and have a big game because your family is there."

Off the bench

The UVM-BU game game will feature another local, Boston University's Caroline Stewart, who's carved a spot as a solid option off the bench for the Terriers. Stewart has played in all 12 games and is averaging 2.4 rebounds . . . Former St. John's Prep sharpshooter Ryan O'Connell has become a steady part of the rotation on a 7-3 Bowdoin team. He's played in nine of the teams 10 games this season, clocking 7.9 minutes per game. Scoring hasn't been a priority for a player who once led the state, but he hasn't been shy about shooting. He's taken 21 shots and knocked down five. Not surprisingly, four of his makes were from 3-point range.