CASTLETON, Vt. – The Vermont State University Castleton women's basketball team suffered a loss at the hands of in-state foe Middlebury College on Tuesday night, falling 75-57 to the Panthers at Glenbrook Gym.
The Spartans (3-3) shot 32.8 percent from the floor and 28.6 percent from three while hitting 13 free throws in the game. Middlebury (2-3) knocked down 41.4 percent overall, but the Spartans held the visitors to just 17.6 percent from beyond the arc. Middlebury connected on 14 free throws. The Panthers dominated the glass 54-32 and turned it into 23 second-chance points and 46 points in the paint. The Spartans had just 15 turnovers to Middlebury's 21 miscues.
Four Spartans reached double figures scoring, led by
Stasia Epler's 14-point night.
Liz Bailey had 12 points and five rebounds and
Elise Magro and
Maggie McKearin had 10 points each. McKearin hit 2-of-3 for the Spartans from three-point range and had five steals defensively.
Kathryn Moore had five points and six rebounds, with
Arianna Coombs matching Moore for a team-high six boards.
Middlebury was led by 23 points from Alexa Mustafaj, who went 9-of-19 from the floor. Emily Downer and Kale Tornwini added 14 points each. Tornwini had eight rebounds and Augusta Dixon led all players with 13 boards.
The Spartans got off to a solid start, leading 4-0 after jumpers by Epler and Magro found the bottom of the bucket. Middlebury took more than two minutes to get on the board before Downer notched a layup. Epler buried a three for Castleton to make it 7-4, but the Panthers went on a 10-0 run over the next three minutes to take a 14-7 lead late in the first. A pair of free throws by Epler and a three by McKearin helped offset Middlebury's scoring over the final three minutes of the frame, sending the game to the second quarter with the visitors leading 18-12.
VTSU Castleton had the first points of the second on a pair of free throws by Coombs and McKearin splashed another three early in the frame to cut the deficit to 20-17. Middlebury had a five-point lead—28-23—after Magro's layup with 3:55 to play in the quarter before closing the frame with another 10-0 run to lead 38-23 at the break.
Middlebury continued to open the lead in the third quarter, outscoring the Spartans 18-14 in the frame. VTSU Castleton had its best offensive output in the final frame, but Middlebury matched it as Castleton was only able to manage a 20-19 edge in the last 10 minutes. The uptick in scoring was powered by a 7-0 run that featured four points from Bailey and three from McKearin. Moore hit a late three to finalize the score at 75-57.
The Spartans return to action next Tuesday night at Colby-Sawyer at 5:30 p.m.
