CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton University women's basketball team fell in Little East Conference action on Saturday evening, dropping a 72-52 decision to Rhode Island College at Glenbrook Gym.
 
The Spartans fall to 8-5 overall and 2-3 in league play with the loss, while RIC improves to 13-4 overall and 8-0 in LEC action. Castleton shot 33.3 percent from the floor (18-of-54), but managed just 18.8 percent from three (3-of-16) while hitting only 13-of-24 at the free-throw line. RIC shot 47.5 percent as a team (29-of-61), making 45.5 percent from three (10-of-22) and 4-of-7 at the line. Rebounds were nearly even, with RIC holding a 37-36 edge. Both teams turned the ball over 13 times, but RIC capitalized better, holding a 17-8 advantage in points off turnovers.
 
Castleton was led by 18 points and eight rebounds from Kelly Vuz. Vuz also added two blocks and a steal on defense. Liz Bailey tallied 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor. Elise Magro and Delaney Whitehead had five points each, with Magro adding three rebounds and three assists. Whitehead had five rebounds.
 
Maci Dorantes had a team-leading 13 points for the Anchorwomen, followed by Antonia Corsinetti and Izabelle Booth with eight points each. Four others had seven points apiece. Jeniyah Jones had seven rebounds to lead her team, while Corsinetti added four assists and Dorantes had three helpers.
 
Castleton got on the board first, as Vuz dropped in a layup to start the scoring, but it was the only lead the Spartans held in the game. Dorantes tied the score at 2-2 with a layup of her own on the ensuing possession to jump-start a 9-0 run for the Anchorwomen. After a three-point play by Olivia Perry pulled Castleton within four, 9-5, the two sides went back-and-forth until the waning moments of the first quarter. Five straight points from Bailey kept Castleton within four points as a team, but a late layup by Neleesha Meunier gave the Anchorwomen an 18-12 lead after one quarter.
 
A Magro jumper to open the second made it a four-point game once again, but a triple by Dorantes on the other end pushed RIC ahead by seven, and a five-point run by the Anchorwomen that followed a made basket by Gwyn Tatton gave RIC its first double-digit lead of the day, 26-16. Vuz hit four free throws—two on each side of a Corsinetti three—to keep the Spartans within nine, 29-20. Both sides played evenly over the final minutes of the first half to send the game to the break with RIC on top, 36-25.
 
The Spartans again struck first to open a quarter, as Vuz buried a three from the wing to cut the deficit back to single digits, 36-28. The visitors responded with an 11-0 run, however, keeping Castleton off the board for the better part of five minutes before Vuz snapped the streak with a three-point play. RIC outscored Castleton 7-3 over the final minutes of the period following Vuz's three-point play, sending the visitors to the final 10 minutes on top by 20, 54-34.
 
Lauren Pratt begant he fourth quarter with a layup, but RIC matched it on the other end. Vuz tried her best to keep the Spartans in the game, knocking down a three, but RIC answered with an 11-0 run behind the strength of three consecutive threes and a layup, putting the Anchorwomen ahead 67-39. Bailey started an 11-0 run for the Spartans with a layup. The run featured points from four different Spartans, including a three from Whitehead, bringing the score to 67-50. RIC broke the run with a three of their own, before Ryleigh Coloutti knocked down two free throws to give Castleton its final points of the contest.
 
The Spartans are back in action Monday night at UMass. Boston. Tip-off is slated for 5 p.m.