NEW LONDON, N.H. – The Castleton University women's basketball team picked up a convincing win on Wednesday night, charging past Colby-Sawyer 62-30 in non-conference road action.
Both teams struggled shooting the ball overall, with Castleton knocking down 22-of-78 from the field (28.2 percent) and 5-of-25 from three (20.0 percent). Colby-Sawyer was just 10-of-60 from the floor (16.7 percent) and 4-of-26 from three (15.4 percent). Castleton was 13-of-21 at the line while Colby-Sawyer hit 6-of-10 free throws. Castleton had a 59-53 edge in total rebounds and a 20-13 edge in offensive boards which led to a 19-9 advantage in second-chance points. Colby-Sawyer turned the ball over 26 times, leading to 25 Spartan points. The Chargers scored just one point off nine Castleton miscues.
Elise Magro led all players with 14 points, while
Kelly Vuz and
Ryleigh Coloutti added 13 and 12 points, respectively. Coloutti notched a double-double on the night, hauling in 13 total rebounds. She also had five steals.
Olivia Perry added eight points and seven rebounds, while
Gwyn Tatton scored seven points with 11 boards.
Emily Parent led Colby-Sawyer with eight points. Megan Molettieri added six points, while Lia Raynowska and Marissa Holt had 10 rebounds apiece.
Castleton got off to a quick start, scoring the game's first four points on a jumper from Magro and a pair of free throws by Perry. Colby-Sawyer answered with a layup before Vuz dropped in a layup and hit a free throw later in the quarter to make it 7-2. The two sides went back-and-forth the remainder of the quarter, with Castleton leading 11-5 after 10 minutes.
The second quarter featured more offense from both squads, as Magro hit back-to-back buckets to open the quarter before Colby-Sawyer buried a three. Five straight points from Castleton put the Spartans ahead 20-8, with the lead pushing to 14 points—24-10—after consecutive baskets by Perry and
Delaney Whitehead. The Chargers answered with five straight points of their own to trim the lead back to single digits, 24-15. The two sides again traded blows at the end of the quarter with Castleton going to the halftime break leading by 10, 28-18.
The Spartans began to pull away out of the locker room, opening the third quarter on a 10-0 run. Magro started the second half with a layup and a three before Coloutti knocked down a triple and Vuz capped the run with a layup to put Castleton up 38-18. Colby-Sawyer worked the deficit back to 14 points, but back-to-back buckets by Coloutti following a free-throw make by
Amy DiSiena put Castleton back ahead by 19, 44-25. A late free throw by the Chargers made it 44-26 Spartans going into the final 10 minutes of play.
Colby-Sawyer continued to battle, scoring consecutive layups to start the fourth and making it a 44-30 game. Castleton answered in a big way, however, holding the Chargers scoreless over the final 8:27 of the game. The Spartans scored the last 18 points of the contest, ending the game on top 62-30.
The Spartans are back in action Saturday at Glenbrook Gym when they host Southern Maine in LEC action at 1 p.m.
