DARTMOUTH, Mass. - The Vermont State University women's basketball team dropped a tight battle with Little East Conference foe and 25th-ranked UMass Dartmouth on Saturday afternoon, falling 77-72 on the road.
 
Elise Magro had a standout game, netting 30 points on 14-of-25 shooting with eight rebounds and four steals. Stasia Epler added 12 points and Arianna Coombs had 10. Emily Adams finished with six points and seven boards for the Spartans (7-6, 1-3 LEC).
 
The difference in the game came down to three-point shooting, with both sides making 29 field goals and 12 free throws. The Corsairs (10-2, 3-1 LEC) hit seven threes to Castleton's two in the contest.
 
Teja Andrews' 21 points led the Corsairs, with Carly Whiteside adding 18 and Amaris Mills chipping in 11. Whiteside had 11 rebounds for a double-double.
 
VTSU Castleton jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the opening minutes, but UMass Dartmouth posted a nine-point run in the middle of the frame to pull ahead 15-6. The two sides traded baskets until the end of the quarter, with Mills burying a three late to put the hosts ahead 22-12 after 10 minutes.
 
Back-to-back baskets to start the second quarter cut the lead back to six as Adams and Epler connected consecutively. UMass Dartmouth answered quickly from there, but a seven-point Spartan run later in the frame pulled Castleton within a point, 27-26. The Spartans took the lead a minute later, using six straight points to build a 32-28 edge. The spurt was immediately followed by a 7-0 Corsair run, however, putting UMass Dartmouth back on top 35-32 with less than two minutes before halftime. The Corsairs led 41-37 at the break.
 
The Spartans got within a point early in the third after Magro hit a layup and Schuylar Nolan hit two free throws to make it 44-43. Epler buried a three later in the frame to level the score at 48-48 and hit another three less than a minute later to give VTSU Castleton a 51-50 lead. The gap stretched to 55-52 in favor of the Spartans, with Epler scoring four more points to cushion the lead. A 9-2 run by the Corsairs to end the frame sent the home side to the fourth quarter on top by four, 61-57.
 
UMass Dartmouth opened the final 10 minutes on a 6-0 run to stretch its lead back to double digits, 67-57. The Spartans continued to battle, using a late 7-0 run—with all seven points coming from Magro—to pull within two, 74-72. The Corsairs kept Castleton off the board in the final minute, hitting a layup and a late free throw to seal the game 77-72.
 
Castleton returns to action Tuesday night at 5:30 p.m. when it hosts Plymouth State at Glenbrook Gym.