KEENE, N.H. – The Castleton University women's basketball team dropped a defensive-minded affair on Tuesday night, falling in overtime to Keene State 38-33 in road Little East Conference action.
The contest was the lowest-scoring game in the Little East this season, as Castleton drops to 12-10 overall and 5-8 in league play. Keene State is now 9-12 with a 6-8 mark in the LEC. Both teams struggled shooting the ball, with Castleton making 22.9 percent (11-of-48) from the floor and 9.1 percent (2-of-22) from three. Keene State hit at the same rate from long range, but shot 24.1 percent (14-of-58) from the field. Castleton was 9-of-12 at the free-throw line and Keene was 8-of-15.
Kelly Vuz tied for a game-high with 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Castleton.
Gwyn Tatton added eight points and nine rebounds, while
Elise Magro chipped in with eight points and eight boards.
Ryleigh Coloutti also had eight rebounds.
Hailey Derosia led Keene with 11 points and three steals on the night in addition to five rebounds. Kenzie Durnford added nine points and seven rebounds while Jenny Freedman had seven points and six assists.
The Owls began the game with an eight-point run, keeping Castleton off the board for the first five-plus minutes of the contest. The Spartans closed the quarter with six consecutive points of their own, however, blanking Keene for the final five minutes of the opening quarter.
Castleton knotted the game at 8-8 to start the second, but the Owls responded on the ensuing possession for a 10-8 lead. That was Keene's only points of the frame, however, as Castleton outscored the Owls 8-0 over the final 8:47 of the second quarter to take a 16-10 lead at halftime.
Keene scored the first four points of the second half, but a trio of free throws kept Castleton ahead, 19-14. Durnford and Derosia scored five straight points for the Owls, however, knotting the score at 19-19 with less than three minutes to play in the third. The two sides traded scores until the final minute of the frame when Vuz sent the Spartans into the fourth with a two-point lead, 25-23, after hitting a late jumper.
Five straight points from Derosia and Durnford again propelled the Owls forward, giving Keene State a 28-25 lead in the early moments of the fourth quarter. Coloutti buried a three to tie the game, and Magro gave the Spartans a 30-29 lead with a layup with 3:29 to play. Freedman hit 1-of-2 at the line to tie the game on Keene's next possession. Freedman struck again with a jumper with 1:13 to play to put the Owls up a pair, 32-30, but Tatton tied the score at 32-32 with a layup in the final minute, forcing the game to overtime.
The extra period was tilted heavily to the Owls' side of the court, as Rylee Burgess scored a layup to open the period and give Keene a 34-32 lead. After Tatton hit 1-of-2 at the line to keep the Spartans within a point, Freedman hit four free throws in the final 63 seconds to seal the game, 38-33.
Castleton returns to action Thursday night at UMass Dartmouth. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m.
