DARTMOUTH, Mass. – For the second game in a row, the Castleton University women's basketball team went down to the wire with its opposition. The Spartans came up short at the end of regulation, however, as UMass Dartmouth used clutch free-throw shooting to hang on for a 70-62 victory in Little East Conference action.

Castleton (0-2, 0-2 LEC) shot 37.9 percent from the field, knocking down 25-of-66 on the day, while UMass Dartmouth (2-3, 2-2 LEC) was 21-of-60 for a 35.0 percent rate. The Spartans also knocked down 7-of-23 from three-point range (30.4 percent), but the Corsairs hit 9-of-27 (33.3 percent). The difference in the game was made at the free-throw line for the second game in a row, as UMass Dartmouth made 19-of-21 (90.5 percent) to Castleton's 5-of-8 (62.5 percent). The Corsairs also held an edge in points off turnovers, 19-11, while Castleton controlled the rebounding battle, 45-38.

Elise Magro led the Spartans with a career-high 21 points while adding seven rebounds and two assists. Brooke Raiche finished the night with 15 points—13 of which came in the second half—while dishing out five assists. Emilee Bose chipped in nine points and seven rebounds, while Gwyn Tatton had a game-high 10 boards. Olivia Perry and Taylor Goodell also had six points apiece.

For the Corsairs, Jordan Moretti had a game-high 24 points on 7-of-13 shooting and 8-of-10 at the free-throw line. Jessica Carroll added 18 points and six rebounds, while Shaelyn Carriero had 13 points and six boards.

Dartmouth hit a pair of threes to open the game with a 6-0 lead before Castleton bounced back with five unanswered points, all from Magro, to make it 6-5. The Corsairs stretched the lead to seven points, however, as a three by Meagan Donovan and a jumper by Teja Andrews made it 13-6 in favor of UMass Dartmouth. Bose and Magro cut into that gap over the ensuing minutes, as the duo each made a pair of baskets to send Castleton on an 8-0 run and giving the Spartans their first lead of the day, 14-13. Carriero stopped Castleton's run with a last-second three, however, giving UMass Dartmouth a 16-14 lead after the first quarter.

Perry knotted the game up at 16-16 early in the second quarter, but UMass Dartmouth pulled ahead 20-16 after baskets from Carriero and Moretti. A pair of free throws by Magro drew Castleton within two before the Corsairs rattled off six unanswered to take a 26-18 lead. A three from Goodell stopped the run, but Jessica Carroll on the other end followed by a layup from Moretti pushed UMass Dartmouth's lead to 10 points, 31-21. Castleton chipped away at the deficit from there, as Bose hit a jumper and a three to halve the gap to five, 31-26. Castleton drew back within two points, 33-31, late in the frame after a three by Magro, but Moretti hit a three of her own at the buzzer on the other end to send the hosts to the locker room leading 36-31.

Goodell hit a three on Castleton's first possession of the second half to pull the Spartans within two, but Castleton went cold over the ensuing five minutes as UMass Dartmouth stretched its lead to 43-34 with less than four minutes to play in the third quarter. Perry knocked down a jumper in the paint to stop the cold spell, kicking off an 11-0 run for Castleton that ended with the Spartans ahead, 45-43. The run was capped by a layup by Raiche to give Castleton its second lead of the day. Four free throws in the final minute of the quarter by the Corsairs gave the home side the lead once more, 47-45, heading into the final 10 minutes of action.

The lead was pushed to five on a three from Carroll, but Tatton knocked down two free throws to keep it a one-possession game. The Corsairs pushed the lead back to six points—57-51—after a layup by Carroll, but Magro buried a three on the other end to halve the lead once more. A layup by Raiche just inside the two-minute mark drew Castleton within one, 59-58, but that was as close as Castleton could muster the rest of the way as Carroll hit a trio of free throws after being fouled on a three to make it a four-point game. In total, the Corsairs went 11-for-11 from the free-throw line in the final 90 seconds of the game, keeping Castleton at bay and icing the game in the waning moments.

The Spartans return to action Monday night in their home-opener against NVU-Johnson at Glenbrook Gym. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m.