New London, N.H. – The Spartans fell behind early and couldn't complete a comeback as Colby-Sawyer won 60-39 in North Atlantic Conference action on Saturday afternoon. 

In a battle of conference unbeaten, it was the Chargers who came out hot, jumping out to a 9-0 lead and finishing with the 21-point victory. They improve to 10-4 overall and 8-0 in the NAC while the Spartans suffer their first defeat of the season and drop to 13-1 and 6-1 in the NAC. 

Castleton held Colby-Sawyer to 32.8 percent from the field, but the Chargers connected on six of their 13 shots from three. The Spartans also forced 18 turnovers, though they were outrebounded 53-35. Castleton shot just 25.9 percent for the contest and made three shots from beyond the arc.

Alyssa Leonard finished with a team-high 14 points as no other Spartan had more than seven. Stephanie Linder finished with three points but had a team-high six rebounds to go with three assists, two steals and two blocks. Shelby LaBarge chipped in with five points and four rebounds off the bench. 

Taylor DeSanty scored 13 to lead three Colby-Sawyer players in double figures and had eight rebounds. Cailin Bullet added 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists, while Kelsey Cahill scored ten.

Both offenses struggled early, but the Chargers managed to jump out to a 9-0 lead 4:12 into the contest. Leonard broke the scoring drought, and started a 9-2 run, which left the Spartans down 11-9 with 12:59 left. 

Neither team scored for the next three minutes, before Cahill eventually ended it with a jumper at 9:56. Leonard countered with a layup, but Colby-Sawyer took control with an 18-2 run to grab a 31-13 lead with 4:02 remaining in the half. Castleton pulled back within 13, but a pair of Bullet free throws gave the Chargers a 36-21 lead at the break. 

Colby-Sawyer opened the second half on a 9-4 run to extend its lead to 20, 45-25, with 14:50 left. The Spartans made a comeback attempt and cut the lead to 15 on a layup by Meghan O'Sullivan with 7:12 remaining. The Chargers countered with the next seven points over 4:50 to put the game out of reach and conclude with the 21-point win. 

The Spartans return to action on Jan. 17 when they host Johnson St. at 5:30 pm.