Box Score WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – The Vermont State University Castleton women's basketball team bounced back with a win on Thursday night, taking down Eastern Connecticut State 65-39 in Little East Conference action on the road.
 
The Spartans had four players in double figures in the victory, led by Elise Magro's 16 points. She also had six rebounds and four assists. Stasia Epler added 14 points and eight boards while Liz Bailey had 12 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Arianna Coombs had a stellar outing off the bench with 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Maggie McKearin had seven points and seven rebounds—with all of her boards coming on hustle plays on the offensive glass. Kathryn Moore and Schuylar Nolan each grabbed five rebounds as well to contribute heavily in the win.
 
The Spartan defense was firing on all cylinders, holding Eastern to just 20.6 percent shooting as a team with a 0-for-11 mark from three-point land. The Spartans shot 36.2 percent on offense as a team, hitting three three-pointers and a dozen free throws. VTSU Castleton dominated the rebounding battle 53-43 and committed only eight turnovers in the victory.
 
The Warriors were led by 12 points from Taylor Salato and 10 points from Kya Mayo. Salato had a double-double with a game-high 17 rebounds.
 
The Spartans outscored Eastern in all four quarters, getting stronger as the game went on. Eastern scored only 12 second-half points as VTSU Castleton outscored them 30-12 over the final 20 minutes of play.
 
Castleton posted an 11-4 lead through the first four minutes of play before an eight-point run by the Warriors gave them a 12-11 edge with three minutes to go in the opening quarter. It was the only taste of a lead Eastern had all game, with Nolan responding on the next possession for Castleton to put the Spartans ahead 13-12. Magro and Bailey followed with baskets of their own to make it 17-12. A final-possession trey from Epler sent Castleton to the second quarter leading 20-16.
 
Magro hit a pair of threes early in the second while Nolan added a jumper to run the VTSU Castleton edge to 28-16. The Warriors kept the Spartans at bay for the remainder of the quarter with the two sides trading scores going into the locker room. The Spartans led 35-27 at halftime.
 
Coombs dropped in a layup to start the second-half scoring, jump-starting a 12-2 run that featured five points from the rookie and ended with VTSU Castleton on top 47-29. The Spartans kept their foot on the gas, leading 52-35 at the end of three quarters.
 
The final frame was equally as dominant, with the Spartans holding Eastern without a field goal until the final minute. When all was said and done, the Warriors made just one field goal in the final 13 minutes of play in the contest. Castleton used an 11-0 run off of its strong defense that spanned four minutes in the fourth quarter to open the game up. The stretch saw McKearin score five of her seven points with Magro, Epler and Moore contributing as well.
 
VTSU Castleton is back at home on Saturday against Southern Maine at 1 p.m.