DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The Castleton University women's basketball team put together a furious comeback attempt in the fourth quarter on Saturday afternoon at UMass Dartmouth, but came up on the short side of a 62-56 final score in the regular-season finale.
The Spartans, who locked up the No. 4 seed with a 16-9 overall record and 9-7 LEC record, will host fifth-seeded Southern Maine on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. in Glenbrook Gym. UMass Dartmouth secured the No. 3 seed in the upcoming conference tournament with a 16-9 overall mark and 12-4 league record.
Castleton trailed by 17 points early in the final quarter of play, but an offensive explosion in the final 10 minutes pulled the Spartans back into contention. An 8-2 run that featured baskets from three different players cut the deficit to 11 points, and a 7-0 run just minutes later made it a seven-point game, 55-48. Another six-point burst that ended with back-to-back buckets by
Elise Magro drew Castleton within just three points, 57-54.
UMass Dartmouth connected on a three on the other end to make it a six-point game with just 30 seconds remaining. Magro missed a three for the Spartans on the ensuing possession, but she hauled in her own rebound and dished to
Liz Bailey for the layup to make it 60-56. The Corsairs drained a pair of free throws on the opposite end after Castleton was forced to foul, putting the game out of reach at 62-56.
Magro had one of the most impressive games of her career, threatening a triple-double with 26 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. She also had six steals while playing all 40 minutes. Bailey contributed 12 points and six rebounds with a pair of blocks.
Kelly Vuz added seven points and eight rebounds, with
Gwyn Tatton added six points for the Spartans.
Jordan Morretti led UMass Dartmouth with 17 points and nine rebounds, followed by Kaylin Zalewski and Jessica Carroll in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Caroline Wilson and Teja Andrews tied Moretti and Magro for a game-high with nine rebounds.
Castleton shot just 29.2 percent as a team and hit only 2-of-20 from three-point range, while UMass Dartmouth hit 36.9 percent with a 7-of-27 mark from long range. The Corsairs outrebounded Castleton 51-42, but Castleton had a 12-11 edge in offensive boards. 17 Corsair turnovers led to 16 Spartan points in the contest.
The Spartans led 7-3 early after a layup by Bailey and a three-point play by Magro. A seven-point run later in the frame by UMass Dartmouth pushed the Corsairs ahead 12-9.
Maggie McKearin hit a three to tie the score and Magro added a layup for a 14-12 lead, but a late three by Zalewski made it 15-14 UMass Dartmouth at the end of the first. The Spartans led 20-19 four minutes into the second quarter, but UMass Dartmouth closed the half on a 13-0 run to carry a 32-20 lead into halftime.
Andrews extended the lead to 34-20 at the start of the third quarter before the lead grew to 17, 41-24. A six-point run with two layups by Bailey and a Magro jumper made it 41-30, but the Corsairs outscored Castleton 7-3 over the final two-plus minutes of the quarter to take a hefty lead to the final 10 minutes.
The lead grew to 17 once more before Castleton began its comeback attempt. Bailey and Magro dropped in layups before UMass Dartmouth knocked down a jumper.
Delaney Whitehead and Magro hit consecutive jump shots to make it 52-41, but a three by Zalewski gave the Corsairs more cushion, 55-41. Vuz answered with a a three of her own on the next possession before Tatton knocked down two free throws and Magro made a layup for a 55-48 score. Andrews added a layup for UMass Dartmouth, but Castleton added two points of free throws by Vuz before Magro dropped in back-to-back buckets for a 57-54 score. Zalewski hit a dagger three on the other end, putting the game out of reach for good as the Corsairs held on for the victory.
