NORTHFIELD, Vt. – Castleton pulled within one multiple times in the final seven minutes but wasn't able to ever draw even as the team dropped a 69-61 decision to Norwich on Saturday afternoon. 

The Spartans actually led by three early in the second half but finished the half shooting just 25.0 percent from the floor as they dropped to 7-2 on the year. Castleton was outrebounded by one, 44-43, and turned the ball over three fewer times as the team finished at 29.9 percent shooting for the contest. Conversely, Norwich shot 40.7 percent from the floor and went 8-for-16 from downtown to improve to 8-1 on the year. 

Senior Jade Desroches led the offense by scoring 23 points on 7-for-23 shooting with nine rebounds, four assists and two steals. Lindsay Sabo was the only other Spartan in double figures, with 12 points, three rebounds and two assists. Bryanna DuPont added eight points, nine rebounds and three assists. 

The nation's fifth leading scorer Aliah Curry finished with 28 points on 9-for-19 shooting and dished off three assists. Heather LeBlanc chipped in with 13 points and nine rebounds while Kayla Mercer hit three triples and finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and six assists. 

Norwich jumped out to an 11-6 lead in the opening four minutes but a 7-3 run by the Spartans brought them back within one, 14-13, at 11:55. A 6-1 run on threes from Sabo and Ali Jones tied the game 20 apiece with 9:06 left. Sabo then drilled consecutive triples to push the Spartan lead to 26-20 with 6:42 remaining. Norwich tied it back up at 28-28 two minutes later and two late Mercer threes provided the Cadets a 34-33 lead at the break. 

In the second half Desroches gave Castleton back a one-point lead and Sabo extended it to 38-35 with 18:04 left. Norwich countered with the next seven points and pushed its lead to 46-40 at 14:14. The Spartans eventually made it a one-possession game seven minutes later on a 5-0 spurt. Mercer pushed the Cadet lead back to four, 51-47, on a triple with 6:09 remaining. 

Castleton cut the deficit to one at 53-52 and then 55-54 on a Meghan O'Sullivan jumper at 2:58. However, seven straight by Norwich gave the home team a 62-54 advantage with just 1:02 left. The Spartans closed it to a four-point game in the final 45 seconds but couldn't hit enough shots and were forced to foul and as they fell by eight points. 

Castleton returns to action on Tuesday when the team hosts Colby-Sawyer at 5:30 pm in a rematch of last year's NAC Championship.