Farmington, Maine – The Spartans jumped out to a 16-point halftime lead and held on for the 61-45 victory over the University of Maine at Farmington in Dearborn Gym on Saturday afternoon. 

Castleton shot just 36.4 percent from the field but recorded 18 steals and forced 32 turnovers to improve to 18-1 on the season and 11-1 in the North Atlantic Conference. The Beavers shot just 32.1 percent from the floor as they dropped to 6-12 overall and 6-6 in conference action. 

Sophomore Jade Desroches led the Spartan attack with 16 points, including four threes and five assists. Tarryn Bolognani and Stephanie Linder were both in double figures with 11 and ten points apiece. Bolognani added four rebounds and four steals in the contest. Stephanie Bull had eight points and four rebounds off the bench. 

Castleton jumped out to a 12-4 lead over the first 5:42, with the final basket coming on a Bull layup. The Spartans then extended their lead to 21-7 over the next two minutes.  Neither offense was able to make a run over the following seven minutes, though UMF cut the lead to 26-16 with 3:59 left in the half. However, Castleton finished the half on a 9-3 run. 

The Beavers scored the first nine points of the second to close the score to 35-28 with 15:27 left. Castleton pushed the lead back to double figures and extended it to 48-32 on a layup by Shelby LaBarge with 10:16 left in the contest. UMF came back and cut the deficit to nine, 48-39, with 4:24 left, but the Spartans countered with an 8-2 run to put the game out of reach. 

Castleton returns to action on Friday when the team hosts Maine Maritime at 7:30 pm.