CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton University women's basketball team forced overtime with a late basket in regulation, but came up on the wrong side of a 71-64 final score in the extra period against Little East Conference opponent University of Southern Maine Saturday at Glenbrook Gym.
 
Ryleigh Coloutti made a driving layup with just 1.5 seconds left on the clock in regulation to force overtime, but the Huskies got out to the early lead in the extra frame. Elise Magro knocked down a jumper to knot the score once more, 60-60, but four straight points by USM put the visitors ahead 64-60. Magro connected again to halve the lead, but the Huskies tacked two more points on to keep the lead at four points with 34 seconds to play. Kelly Vuz brought it back to two points on the next possession, 66-64, but the Huskies hit five free throws over the final 27 seconds to seal the win, 71-64.
 
The Spartans (5-4, 0-2 LEC) shot 33.8 percent on the afternoon, knocking down 23-of-68 from the floor, and made threes at a 31.8 percent rate, hitting 7-of-22. USM (3-7, 2-1 LEC) hit 26-of-73 from the floor for a 35.8 percent mark, but made just 2-of-9 from three (22.2 percent). The Huskies knocked down 17-of-23 at the free-throw line while Castleton made 11-of-19 at the stripe. The Spartans committed 21 turnovers which led to 17 points for USM, while Castleton turned 16 Huskies miscues into seven points.
 
Magro had a game-high 24 points in the contest, while Vuz and Coloutti added 17 points apiece. Olivia Perry hauled in a game-high 13 rebounds, with Coloutti and Magro adding eight boards each as well. Gwyn Tatton also collected eight rebounds for Castleton.
 
Southern Maine was paced by double-digit efforts from Amy Fleming, Michelle Rowe and Franny Ramsdell. Rowe finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds for a double-double, while Fleming netted 18 points and Ramsdell 13. Jackie Luckhardt had eight points and seven rebounds for USM.
 
The two sides battled evenly in the first five minutes of the game, with the score level at 8-8 at the first-quarter media timeout. The Huskies went on a 9-0 run out of the media timeout, however, opening up a 17-8 lead over a four-minute stretch. Vuz broke the run with a layup, but the Huskies tacked on a late basket to go into the second quarter up 19-10.
 
Castleton chipped away at the deficit in the second quarter, using a 9-2 run to pull within three points, 28-25, with 4:33 before the half. The lead shrunk to just one point with less than a minute before the break when Vuz buried a three on a dish from Coloutti, making it 31-30. The Huskies again got the last basket of the quarter, however, as Rowe grabbed an offensive rebound and laid it in to send USM into the locker room ahead 33-30.
 
The third quarter saw a sluggish start for both teams, as USM had just one basket in the first five minutes of the quarter and Castleton's first basket didn't come until four minutes into the frame. Back-to-back layups by Vuz and Tatton leveled the score at 34-34, before USM's Ashlee Aceto and Castleton's Vuz traded threes to keep the score even at 37-37. Ramsdell but USM back ahead with a layup, but Magro knocked down a jumper to tie the game before Coloutti splashed a three to give Castleton its first lead since early in the first quarter. A Magro free throw put Castleton ahead four, but USM knocked down two free throws of their own to send the game into the fourth quarter with Castleton leading by two, 43-41.
 
USM knotted the score on the opening possession of the final regulation quarter, and the teams traded the lead back-and-forth the remainder of the way. Neither side led by more than three points at any time during the final 10 minutes of regulation. USM led by three with 3:39 to play, but a pair of Coloutti free throws pulled Castleton within one, 57-56. Both sides then went scoreless for the next three-plus minutes before Rowe made 1-of-2 at the line to give the Huskies a 58-56 lead with five seconds to play. Castleton called a timeout, and drew up a play to get Coloutti on the drive. The rookie charged into the lane on the right side and laid the ball in with 1.5 seconds to play, leveling the score at 58-58. The Huskies turned the ball over in their own front court on the ensuing inbound play, sending the game to overtime, where USM pulled away for the victory.
 
Castleton is off until December 30, when it hosts Fitchburg State at 4 p.m. in Glenbrook Gym.