CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton University women's basketball team suffered its first home loss of the season Friday night, falling to Colby-Sawyer 67-64 in non-conference action.

The Spartans (6-3) had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer, but Brooke Raiche's last-second attempt clanged off the rim as the horn sounded on a victory for the Chargers (9-1). Castleton shot 41.0 percent from the field, making 25-of-61, while Colby-Sawyer shot 38.7 percent (24-of-62). The Chargers knocked down six threes to Castleton's five, and both teams knocked down free throws at a 90-plus percent clip, with Colby-Sawyer making 13-of-14 and Castleton 9-of-10. The Chargers won the rebounding battle 41-34, and outscored the Spartans in the paint, 32-22.

Castleton received a team-high 20 points from Kylie Wright in 27 minutes off the bench, as the sophomore shot 9-of-12 from the field. She also pulled in seven rebounds in a career-best outing. Raiche joined Wright in double digits with 12 points, while Emilee Bose and Alexis Quenneville had 10 points apiece. Elise Magro added seven points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals.

Tianna Sugars notched a game-high 23 points and 13 rebounds, shooting 8-of-21 from the field. Lexie Hamilton came with two rebounds of a triple-double, scoring 14 points with 11 assists and eight boards. She finished the day shooting 3-of-11 after starting 0-for-8 from the field. Caitlyn Boucher and Joslin Wainwright added 12 and 11 points apiece, respectively, rounding out the Chargers' double-digit scorers.

Colby-Sawyer got off to a quick start, taking an 8-2 lead less than three minutes into the contest. Castleton battled back to just a three-point deficit after Raiche knocked down a three, but a pair of Charger free throws gave the visitors a 14-10 lead after the first quarter.

Both offenses went off for 19 points in the second quarter, trading blows throughout the frame. Castleton cut the edge to just one point on a three by Jillian Laughlin on the opening possession, but never got any closer in the quarter as the Chargers answered with a 6-0 run on three consecutive possessions. Castleton bounced back with a pair of layups by Wright, cutting the gap to three, but Sugars tallied a layup on the other end to make it a five-point game once more. A three on the ensuing possession by Quenneville made it a two-point game, but Sugars buried a three of her own to jump start a 5-0 run for Colby-Sawyer. The Chargers pushed the lead to seven points with 4:04 remaining on a jumper by Sugars—who had 13 first-half points—but Quenneville buried a three to make it a four-point game, 29-25, before the teams traded baskets on their way to a 33-29 score in favor of Colby-Sawyer at halftime.

Castleton used a 6-2 run out of the halftime break to tie the game for the first time since the opening tip, 35-35. After another deadlock at 37-all, the Chargers had a brief 4-0 run to take a lead they didn't relinquish until the fourth quarter. The lead stretched to six points by the end of the third quarter, as Sugars made a layup with 17 seconds left to make it 49-43 after three.

The final quarter saw more back-and-forth action, as the two teams traded leads throughout the frame. A 6-0 run by Castleton pulled the Spartans within one, 54-53, with 5:38 to play. Colby-Sawyer pulled back ahead by four, 59-55, but a layup and a three by Raiche gave Castleton its first lead of the game with 2:53 on the clock. The lead traded hands six times in the final minutes, as neither side could stop the other over six consecutive possessions to make it 65-64 in favor of Colby-Sawyer with 45 seconds to play. Following an empty Spartan possession, Castleton fouled to put Sugars at the line with eight seconds remaining, and the forward knocked down both to put Colby-Sawyer ahead, 67-64. The Spartans drew up a final play for Raiche, who pulled the trigger on a three from the left wing, but it was no good as the final horn sounded.

Castleton returns to action at the Naples Shootout in Naples, Florida, on December 29 and 30. The Spartans face Alma and Vassar in the tournament, with tip-off against Alma slated for 8:30 p.m. on day one of the shootout.