MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – The Castleton University women's basketball team gave Middlebury all it could handle Tuesday evening but came up short in overtime as the Panthers held off the Spartans by a final score of 64-60 at Pepin Gymnasium.

Castleton forced overtime with just 0.5 seconds on the clock when Emilee Bose knocked down 1-of-2 at the free-throw line to knot the score at 52-52. Despite the Panthers running out to a five-point lead early in the overtime period, a late jumper by Bose drew the Spartans within just two—62-60—with 1:20 to play. The Spartans got a stop on defense, but a shot-clock violation on the other end of the floor gave the ball back to Middlebury with just 20 seconds to play, and the Panthers iced the game with two late free throws making it 64-60.

The Spartans suffered their first loss of the season to fall to 5-1, while Middlebury improves to 4-0 on the year with the win. Castleton shot 35.8 percent (24-of-67) as a team, knocking down 29.2 percent (7-of-24) from beyond the arc. The Panthers shot 41.1 percent (23-of-56) with a 25.0 percent (4-of-16) mark from long range. The biggest difference in the game came at the free-throw line, with Middlebury knocking down 14-of-20 while Castleton made 5-of-8 attempts. The rebound battle was nearly even, with Middlebury holding a 40-39 edge, but Castleton had 12 second-chance points to the Panthers' nine and committed just 11 turnovers to Middlebury's 13.

Bose led the Spartans with 15 points while hauling in eight rebounds on the night. She shot 6-of-14 from the field with a pair of threes and made the game-tying free throw late in regulation. Alexis Quenneville added 13 points on 5-of-9 from the field. She knocked down a trio of threes and dished out a team-high five assists. Kylie Wright scored 12 points—her second double-digit scoring game off the bench in the last three games—in addition to her nine rebounds. Brooke Raiche rounded out Castleton's four double-digit scorers, dropping 11 points in addition to a pair of blocks. Katlyn Toomey also added nine rebounds for Castleton and Elise Magro had five points and four assists on the night.

Middlebury received a game-high 21 points from Maya Davis as she shot 6-of-7 from the field and 9-of-11 at the free-throw line. She added nine rebounds and three steals for the Panthers. Betsy Knox also reached double digits with 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds while dishing out six assists. The remaining three starters—Gianna Palli, Alyna Baharozian and Kira Waldman—scored six points apiece with Palli grabbing six rebounds and dishing out six assists.

The first quarter saw four ties, as Bose knocked down a three-point field goal in the final seconds of the frame for a 13-13 score after the initial stanza.

Knotted at 15-15 in the second quarter, Castleton rattled off a 9-3 run, capped by a three from Magro, to take a 24-18 edge with 6:32 left before halftime. The Panthers tallied the final nine points of the quarter, taking a 27-24 lead into the break after a three from Vanessa Young.

An early-third-quarter a basket from Davis gave the hosts a 29-24 advantage, but the Spartans ripped off a 12-0 run to grab a 36-29 lead with 4:46 remaining, capped by a jumper from Wright. The Panthers chipped away at the deficit, tying the score at 37-37 on a layup by Davis in the waning seconds of the quarter.

The fourth quarter saw both teams maintain small leads throughout most of the frame. Davis gave Middlebury a 52-49 lead with a pair of free throws with 1:13 left. A layup from Toomey with 49 seconds remaining moved Castleton to within one, 52-51. Following a Panther turnover, the Spartans missed a three and a put-back attempt, but Bose was fouled on the ensuing rebound with 0.5 seconds left. She missed the first attempt but made the second to tie the contest at 52-52, forcing overtime.

In the overtime period, Middlebury's Waldman posted a pair of layups, sandwiched around a three-point play from Knox for a 59-54 edge with 3:21 left. The Spartans made it a 62-60 game on a jumper from Bose with 1:20 remaining, but Knox made two free throws down the stretch as the Spartans missed a trio of threes for the final score of 64-60.

The Spartans have the next week off in advance of Little East Conference action, with the next contest coming on December 4 against Keene State. Tip-off is slated for 5:30 p.m. at Castleton's Glenbrook Gymnasium.