NEW LONDON, N.H. – The Vermont State University Castleton women's basketball team came out of Thanksgiving break recharged on Tuesday night, topping Colby-Sawyer 73-44 in non-conference road action.
The Spartans (4-3) hit 40.3 percent as a team in the game and made 4-of-9 from three. Castleton also hit 15-of-20 free throws in the win. The Chargers (1-5) were held to just 22.1 percent shooting and made only 5-of-34 three-point attempts. Castleton controlled the glass with a 53-42 edge in rebounding and committed only 12 turnovers to Colby-Sawyer's 17, leading to an 18-13 edge in points off turnovers. The Spartans did a ton of damage down low, outscoring Colby-Sawyer 42-16 in the paint.
Elise Magro's 21 points led all scorers, and she dished out six assists with six rebounds as well.
Stasia Epler had 15 points and hit 2-of-3 from beyond the arc, and
Schuylar Nolan had a career-best 11 points in the win.
Emily Adams snagged a game-high 14 rebounds and came a point away from a double-double with nine points.
Liz Bailey contributed eight points and eight rebounds and
Arianna Coombs had six points and five boards.
Courtney Brewster had a team-best 11 points for Colby-Sawyer while Megan Molettieri added nine. Catherine Chick had 10 rebounds and Gabby Lucertini had four assists.
Colby-Sawyer struck first in the contest when Molettieri hit an early three, but it was all VTSU Castleton from there as the Spartans scored the next eight points to take a lead it never relinquished. Epler had six of the points in the span, hitting a free throw, a three and a layup in order for an 8-3 lead. Another 8-0 run later in the frame with four points each from Coombs and Nolan pushed Castleton's lead to 20-9. Epler hit a driving layup late in the quarter to give the Spartans a 22-10 edge after 10 minutes.
The Chargers again hit an early three to start the second, and once more Castleton responded in a big way. The Spartans scored 15 unanswered points, jump-started by a three from Adams. Coombs continued the run and Magro poured in the next 10 points for Castleton to pull ahead 37-13. The Spartans led 39-20 at halftime.
VTSU Castleton continued to add to its lead in the third quarter thanks to an eight-point outburst that saw points from Magro, Epler and Nolan. Adams closed the third with a layup to send the game to the final quarter with Castleton ahead 55-31. A nine-point run in the fourth built Castleton's lead even larger, 72-43, with each team adding just a lone free throw more before the end of the contest.
Castleton returns to the hardwood Saturday at 1 p.m. at the fifth-ranked team in the nation, Rhode Island College, for the LEC opener.
