CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton University women's basketball team returned to the court after 19 days off on Thursday evening and looked like they hadn't missed a beat, cruising to a 78-41 win over Fitchburg State in Glenbrook Gym.
The Spartans improve to 6-4 on the season with the win, while Fitchburg State falls to 1-10 on the year with its seventh-straight loss. Castleton shot 40.7 percent from the field (33-of-81) and 28.6 percent from three (6-of-21), while Fitchburg State shot 26.4 percent from the floor (14-of-53) and 17.4 percent from beyond the arc (4-of-23). The Spartans made 6-of-11 free throws while Fitchburg knocked down 9-of-14 at the line. Castleton controlled the glass 51-40, leading to a 14-4 edge in second-chance scoring. The Falcons committed 30 turnovers on the night to Castleton's 12, which gave the Spartans a 31-3 edge in points off turnovers.
Ryleigh Coloutti logged a game-high 19 points, making 4-of-10 from beyond the arc on the day.
Kelly Vuz and
Elise Magro had 16 points apiece, with Vuz grabbing six rebounds and dishing out seven assists in the win as well. Magro added four assists and five steals for the Spartans.
Gwyn Tatton reached the double-digit threshold with 10 points and had eight rebounds. In her first game as a Spartan,
Liz Bailey registered seven points and led the team on the glass with 10 rebounds.
Ephemian Bailey had 10 points and six rebounds for the Falcons, while Rylie Harlow and Lovashia Rosario had seven points each. Jadelen Harold had a team-high eight rebounds for Fitchburg State.
The two sides traded baskets through the first three minutes of the game, with Fitchburg State leading 6-5 in the early-going. Coloutti splashed a corner three—her second of the game already—to put Castleton ahead 8-6, a lead they never relinquished again. The triple sparked a 12-0 Castleton run that ended with Castleton leading 17-6 with 3:23 to play in the first quarter. A pair of Fitchburg free throws interrupted the run, but Castleton scored nine unanswered points over the final 2:33 of the quarter to lead 26-8 after 10 minutes.
The Spartans continued to pull away in the second quarter, outscoring the Falcons 15-7 in the stanza. The Spartans closed the opening half on a 6-0 run featuring a pair of layups by Magro and a layup by Tatton to end the frame. The Spartans took a 41-15 lead into halftime.
Fitchburg State came out of the locker room on a 7-0 run, hitting a pair of free throws, a three-pointer and a layup before the Spartans got on the board in the third quarter. The rest of the frame belonged to Castleton, however, as the hosts outscored Fitchburg 19-7 the rest of the frame behind a pair of 7-0 runs of their own.
Neither side had a run longer than six unanswered points in the final frame, though Castleton continued to pull away to the 78-41 final score. The Spartans outscored the Falcons 18-12 in the final 10 minutes, capped by a free throw and a layup from the newcomer Bailey late in the contest.
Castleton returns to action on Monday at home with a women's and men's LEC doubleheader against WestConn. The women play at 2 p.m. followed by the men at 4 p.m.
