SALEM, Mass. – Castleton gave up just seven points in through the first 19 minutes of action on the way to a 43-28 victory over Southern Maine at the Salem State Tip-Off on Friday evening. 

The Spartans limited the Huskies to just 18.2 percent shooting from the floor and 2-for-14 from beyond the arc as they opened the season at 1-0. Castleton, meanwhile, shot 30.6 percent overall and went 7-for-14 from downtown while outrebounding Southern Maine 42-36. The Huskies dropped to 0-1 overall. 

Senior Jade Desroches led the Spartan offense with 14 points, including three triples, to go with five rebounds and two steals. Amanda Beatty was strong in the middle with seven rebounds and five points while Lindsay Sabo added nine points, two assists and two steals. Makayla Farrara came off the bench to provide seven points, four rebounds and two assists. 

Southern Maine didn't have any scorers reach double figures but did get a team'high seven points from Alexandra Srolovitz. Meghan Pelletier added six rebounds and three points but went 1 of 7 from the floor. 

Pelletier actually gave the USM a 2-0 lead 14 seconds into the game, but Desroches connected on a three at 6:32 to jumpstart a 13-0 run. Alison Furness ended the Huskies scoring drought with 3:14 left and the teams traded shots as Castleton finished the first quarter leading 16-6. 

Bryanna duPont opened the second quarter scoring and the Spartans eventually pushed their lead to 23-6 on a triple by Desroches at 7:35. Pelletier made a free throw 1:18 later but Castleton finished the half on a 5-3 run for the 28-10 lead at the half. 

The Spartans stretched their lead to 22, 32-10, on a Beatty layup with 8:07 remaining in the third but over the next seven minutes USM closed the gap to 14 points. duPont ended the run with 34 seconds left on a jumper to give Castleton a 38-22 advantage after three quarters. 

Neither team showed much offense in the final ten minutes as the Huskies outscored the Spartans 6-5 to fall by 15 points. 

Castleton returns to action tomorrow when then the team faces host Salem State at 3 pm.