BOSTON, Mass. – The Castleton University women's basketball team picked up a big conference victory on the road Wednesday night, defeating UMass Boston 57-53 in Little East Conference action to extend its winning streak to three games.

The Spartans improve to 9-6 overall and 4-2 in the LEC after handing the Beacons their first loss on their home court this season. UMass Boston falls to 12-3 overall and 3-3 in conference play. The Spartans dominated the opening frame, taking a 20-7 lead in the first 10 minutes before holding UMass Boston to carry s 32-25 lead into the locker room. The Beacons narrowed the gap to one after three quarters before taking their first lead of the game just more than two minutes into the fourth quarter.

The two sides exchanged the lead four times in the final frame before Castleton took the advantage for good with just 16 seconds remaining on a layup by Brooke Raiche. Alexis Quenneville put the game on ice with a pair of free throws with just five seconds to play, giving the Spartans a 57-53 victory.

Castleton shot 39.2 percent (20-of-51) on the day while holding the Beacons to 28.3 percent (17-of-60) shooting. Both sides shot less than 30 percent from three, with Castleton going 4-of-14 and UMass Boston making 5-of-21. Castleton knocked down 13-of-17 at the free throw line while UMass Boston made 14-of-16 on the day. The Beacons controlled the glass, 40-32, though Castleton narrowly won the turnover battle with 15 miscues to UMass Boston's 17.

Emilee Bose led Castleton in scoring with 20 points on 9-of-16 shooting, adding seven rebounds and two steals to her ledger in the process. Alexis Quenneville knocked down all four of Castleton's threes and hit both of her free-throw attempts to finish the night with 14 points, while Elise Magro joined her in double digits with 10 points on 4-of-9 shooting. She added a career-high seven assists with three rebounds and two steals. Katlyn Toomey pulled in eight rebounds to lead the Spartans, while Raiche finished with five points—none bigger than the go-ahead bucket.

UMass Boston got a game-high 22 points from Joie Grassi, though she finished just 4-of-15 from the field. She knocked down 12-of-14 from the free-throw line, however, and grabbed nine rebounds to lead all players. Jalani Jackson added 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting, while Rachel Tutkus grabbed eight rebounds—all offensive—off the bench.

The Spartans started the game with a 6-0 run over the first three minutes before Jackson got UMass Boston on the board. A jumper by Magro gave Castleton an 8-2 lead with 6:17 to play in the opening quarter and jump-started an 11-0 run for the Spartans, capped by a triple from Quenneville, as Castleton took a 17-2 lead with 2:30 to play in the frame. After a Beacon timeout, Jackson hit a three of her own for the Beacons to start a 5-0 run, but Quenneville ended the frame with a buzzer-beating three to give Castleton a 20-7 lead after 10 minutes of play.

The two sides were scoreless for the first 2:30 of the second quarter before Bose gave Castleton a 15-point lead—its largest of the game—with a layup that made it 22-7. The Beacons chipped away at the lead over the ensuing three minutes, narrowing the gap to just nine points—26-17. Another three by Quenneville pushed the edge to 13 points, 32-19, but the Beacons then used a 6-0 run over the final three minutes of the quarter to narrow the lead to 32-25 at halftime.

A 4-0 run for UMass Boston out of halftime narrowed the Castleton edge to just three points—32-29—but Castleton pushed the lead back to eight points just minutes later after a jumper by Kylie Wright made it 41-33. Back-to-back threes from the Beacons drew UMass Boston within two points, 41-39, but Castleton allowed the Beacons to get no closer before the end of the third quarter as the game went to the final 10 minutes with the Spartans ahead, 45-43.

After UMass Boston tied the game at 45-all in the opening minute of the final quarter, it took its first lead of game with 7:29 to play on a pair of free throws by Grassi. Castleton regained the lead on the next possession when Quenneville buried yet another three, before Magro made it a three-point game with a jumper the next time down the court. Four consecutive free throws by Grassi gave the Beacons the lead once more, 51-50, but Bose tied it up with a free throw of her own with just less than three minutes left on the clock. Jackson hit a pair of free throws for the Beacons to make it a two-point lead for the hosts, but Bose finished a layup out of a Castleton timeout to knot the game once more, 53-53. After a travel by the Beacons, Castleton advanced the ball with a timeout to get a front-court possession.

With the shot clock winding down, Castleton called another timeout to draw up one final play. Catching the ball at the top of the key, Raiche drove and finished off a layup to make it a two-point lead for Castleton, 55-53 with just 16 seconds left on the clock. The Beacons called a timeout after the basket to advance the ball themselves, inbounding the ball to Jackson. Jackson drove right and took a contested shot that clanged off the iron before eventually being corralled by Quenneville in the corner. Quenneville was then fouled and knocked down both free throws, sealing the victory for Castleton, 57-53.

Castleton returns to action Saturday at home when Western Connecticut State comes to Glenbrook Gym for a 2 p.m. tip-off.