BOSTON, Mass. – The Vermont State University Castleton women's basketball team fell 75-64 to UMass Boston Wednesday night, despite a second-half surge.
Arianna Coombs posted a career-high 21 points as
Maggie McKearin posted her first double-double of the season with a career-high 16 rebounds, adding 10 points.
The Basics:
- Final Score: 75-64 UMass Boston
- Location: Boston, Massachusetts – Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium
- Records: 11-6 (5-3 LEC) UMass Boston | 5-11 (1-7 LEC) Castleton
How it Happened:
The Beacons blanked the Spartans in the first 10 minutes, with McKearin and
Emily Adams scoring the lone baskets for Castleton as they finished the first quarter in a 28-3 deficit.
Castleton flipped the script as the second frame started, outscoring the Beacons 17-14. Adams started the Spartans' momentum switch with a jump shot three minutes in as they worked to cut the lead (30-5). Coombs' career-high 21-point night started with a layup around four minutes into the quarter, continuing with two knocked down free throws (32-11).
Stasia Epler drained a three-pointer with two minutes to go, and finished the first half with two made free throws as the Spartans headed into halftime down 42-20.
The highest-scoring quarter for the Spartans was the third, in which they outscored UMass Boston 23-16. Two knocked-down free throws by Coombs with two and a half minutes to play brought the Beacons' lead under 20, which she followed up with a layup as Castleton started to claw its way back (56-40). Epler closed out the third frame with a big three-pointer, as the Spartans faced a 15-point deficit going into the final 10 minutes (58-43).
Outscoring the Beacons yet again in the final frame, the Spartans opened the final 10 minutes with a 6-2 run in the first two minutes (60-49). Epler pulled Castleton within 12 (67-55) with four minutes to go in the game, as the two teams traded baskets back-and-forth, as McKearin's final tip-in of the game left Castleton down 11 (75-64).
By the Numbers:
- Coombs scored a career-high 21 points, adding seven rebounds.
- McKearin notched her first double-double of the season with a career and team-high 16 rebounds, contributing 10 points, a team-high four steals, and four assists.
What's Next
The team returns to Glenbrook Gym on Saturday, January 14, for an LEC matchup with UMass Dartmouth, set for 12 p.m.