DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The Castleton University women's basketball team came up short against UMass Dartmouth on Thursday evening, falling to the Corsairs 65-54 on the road in the penultimate game of the regular season.
 
Castleton drops to 12-11 on the season with a 5-9 LEC record, while UMassD improves to 16-7 on the year and 10-4 in league action. Castleton shot just 29.4 percent in the contest, making 20-of-68 from the floor and hit 9-of-33 from beyond the arc for a 27.3 percent rate. The Corsairs shot 43.4 percent as a team, knocking down 23-of-53 with an 8-of-25 mark from three (32.0 percent). Castleton won the turnover battle, 19-12, but UMass Dartmouth took advantage of miscues at a higher rate, outscoring Castleton 21-15 in points off turnovers.
 
Elise Magro racked up 19 points to lead the team in scoring, followed by Kelly Vuz's 16 points on the night. Vuz also had seven rebounds and four steals. Ryleigh Coloutti added seven points and seven boards.
 
Shaelyn Carreiro tallied 14 points and nine rebounds for the Corsairs, while Meagan Donovan had 11 points and four boards. Jordan Moretti reached double figures with 10 points while also dishing out eight assists and grabbing six rebounds.
 
The two sides traded layups to open the game, as UMassD's Lauren Empey opened the scoring on the Corsairs' senior night. Empey suffered a season-ending injury earlier this year and was given the start in the final game of her career. The Corsairs responded by allowing the Spartans to score on the other end of the floor, with Olivia Perry laying the ball in to make it 2-2. UMassD went on a seven-point run from there, but Coloutti broke the streak with a triple of her own before Vuz cut the gap back to two with a layup. Castleton took its first lead of the game, 15-14, after back-to-back threes by Magro and Vuz found the bottom of the net with 2:34 to play in the first quarter. The Corsairs ended the quarter on a 10-3 run from there, however, taking a 24-18 lead to the second quarter.
 
Castleton whittled away the lead slowly over the second quarter, using an 8-2 run to get the deficit back to just three points midway through the frame, 33-30. UMass Dartmouth extended its lead again, but five straight points by Castleton going into the break made it a 42-38 game at halftime.
 
UMassD opened the second half on a 9-1 run that spanned more than six minutes in the third quarter, but Castleton responded with eight straight points—capped by consecutive threes by Coloutti and Vuz. A lone free throw by Moretti made it a 53-47 game heading to the final frame.
 
After two Corsair free throws to open the frame, Magro buried a three to make it a five-point game, but UMassD answered with a triple on the other end to push the gap back to eight. Magro hit a layup to make it a six-point game, but the Corsairs scored five straight after that to get the lead to double digits, 63-52. A late jumper by Lauren Pratt gave the Spartans their final points, and two Moretti free throws capped the scoring in the contest.
 
Castleton and UMass Dartmouth go head-to-head once more on Saturday afternoon to close out the regular season at Glenrbook Gym. Game time is 1 p.m.