CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton University women's basketball program dropped a tight battle to Keene State at home on Wednesday night, falling in the final seconds by a final score of 55-54 in Little East Conference action.
The Spartans sit at 16-8 on the season and 9-6 in league play, locking them into the No. 4 seed in the upcoming LEC Tournament. Castleton will play an opponent that is yet to be determined at 6 p.m. next Tuesday, February 21, at Glenbrook Gym following the conclusion of the regular season. Castleton wraps up regular-season action on Saturday at UMass Dartmouth at 1 p.m.
Castleton led 54-53 with 2:04 to play in the contest on Wednesday night, but was unable to find any offense in the final two minutes. Keene stuggled much the same offensively in that span, but a driving layup by Aryanna Murray gave the Owls a 55-54 lead with 10 seconds to play. Castleton had two looks in the final moments of play, but both came up empty as the Owls secured the victory.
Elise Magro led all players with 17 points and added eight rebounds and four steals in the contest.
Gwyn Tatton tallied 13 points with seven rebounds and
Kelly Vuz added 11 points and three assists.
Liz Bailey finished the night with seven points and
Maggie McKearin hit a pair of threes for six points in the contest.
Valerie Luizzi led the Owls with 15 points and three assists, grabbing four rebounds as well. Rylee Burgess had a game-high 12 rebounds. Kenzie Durnford netted 11 points with eight boards.
The Owls outshot Castleton by a significant margin, hitting 44.9 percent from the field to Castleton's 29.4 percent. The Spartans connected on eight threes and made 16-of-22 at the free-throw line, while Keene made seven threes with a 4-of-7 night at the line. The Owls won the rebound battle 39-29, though Castleton committed only nine turnovers to Keene's 18.
Keene got on the board first with a three from Luizzi, but Castleton scored four in a row for a 4-3 lead three minutes into play. The two sides traded the lead back-and-forth the remainder of the quarter with Castleton leading 13-12 after 10 minutes.
The lead grew to five points after a 6-2 run to start the second quarter, but back-to-back threes by Jackie Alibrandi for Keene State put the Owls back on top, 20-19. The went back-and-forth once more, with Keene working its way to a 27-26 lead with less than two minutes to play before halftime. Bailey hit a free throw and later added a layup for a 29-27 Castleton lead, and Magro hit a three as time expired on the half to send Castleton to the locker room leading 32-27.
The lead evaporated quickly in the third quarter when Keene scored five unanswered points out of the break, but Vuz stopped the bleeding with a three for the Spartans. Consecutive layups by the Owls put Keene on top 36-35, but Castleton later regained the lead with a 9-2 run to go ahead 45-40. A late layup cut the lead to just three points after three quarters, 45-42.
The Owls again opened a quarter with a 5-0 run, taking a 47-45 lead less than 90 seconds into the final quarter after a three and a layup. Vuz tied the game with two free throws before Durnford dropped in a layup. Magro hit a jumper and Tatton knocked down a corner three to give Castleton a 52-49 lead with five minutes to play. Two free throws by Murray made it a one-point game, and a Burgess layup put Keene ahead 53-52 with 2:57 remaining.
Magro connected on two free throws with 2:04 to play to put Castleton back in the driver's seat, 54-53. Both offenses went cold from there, with Keene missing its next three field goals and Castleton missing its final three as well. The final blow came with just 10 seconds to play, when Murray hit a left-handed layup after nearly losing her dribble earlier in the possession. Castleton called timeout to advance the ball, but a quick turnover cost the Spartans possession and forced them to foul.
The Owls missed both free throws on the other end, giving Castleton one final shot with five seconds to play. An off-balance three-point attempt by Magro at the horn went wayward, ending the contest with Keene on top.
