Box Score Westfield, Mass. – Castleton used a stifling defense and a balanced scoring attack to defeat Westfield St. 52-38 in the Westfield St. Tip-Off Tournament Championship on Saturday afternoon.
The Spartans held the Owls to just 22.7 percent shooting on the afternoon, including 2-for-14 from beyond on the arc to open up their season 2-0 for the second straight year. Westfield St., meanwhile, drops to 1-1 overall.
Castleton was led by Tournament MVP Meghan O'Sullivan, who averaged 18.5 points per game in the tournament and shot 79 percent from the field. On Saturday, she scored all nine of her points in the second half and added six rebounds and two blocks to lead the team. Junior Alyssa Leonard was also named to the all-tournament team, grabbing a team-high 11 rebounds to go with six points and four assists.
The two teams traded buckets to open play; however, a 5-0 run over a 4:13 span gave the Owls an 11-6 advantage with 12:04 left in the first half. Castleton tried to counter but Westfield St. went up 13-9 on a layup by Gabby Felix with 8:35 remaining. The basketball would prove to be the Owls' final points of the half.
A free throw by Shelby LaBarge cut the deficit to three and a Leonard layup and Kelly Conway triple gave the Spartans the lead, 15-13, at the 5:11 mark. Castleton continued to harass Westfield St. on defense and outscored the Owls 5-0 over the final minutes of the half to take a 20-13 lead.
The Spartans extended their lead to 25-13 in the second before Felix finally broke the scoring drought with 16:43 remaining, a span of 11:52. The Castleton lead fluctuated from 13-10 over the next nine minutes,before a 6-0 run over a four-minute span left Westfield St. trailing by just six, 38-32, with 3:04 left.
O'Sullivan responded with a jumper on the next possession to make it 40-32, and Jade Desroches recorded back-to-back steals and hit a pair of free throws to give Castleton the ball and a ten-point lead with 2:22 left. Liz Douglass made two free throws on the ensuing possession and O'Sullivan followed with a jumper to extend the lead to 46-32 with 2:12 in the game. The Owls didn't get closer than 13 again as Castleton earned its second double-digit win of the year.
Felix led Westfield St. with 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Jen Ashton joined her in double figures with 10 points.
Freshman Stephanie Linder tied for the team lead in points with nine and added two rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Douglass had a solid all-around game with five steals, four points, four rebounds and two assists.
Castleton returns to action on Tuesday, Nov. 20 when the team hosts Plymouth St. at 5:30 pm in Glenbrook Gym.
