Castleton Claims Second Women's Basketball Title in Three Years
Castleton Claims Second Women's Basketball Title in Three Years
CASTLETON, Vt. – Leading by just 11 with eight minutes left in regulation, Castleton went on a 9-2 run over a three-minute stretch to put the game away and earn the program's fourth North Atlantic Conference Championship with a 73-49 victory over Colby-Sawyer on Saturday afternoon in Glenbrook Gym.
The Spartans looked poised to run away with the game midway through the second half, but an 8-0 Colby-Sawyer run closed the gap to 55-44 with 8:26 left in regulation, prompting a Castleton timeout. Out of the break, it was senior Alyssa Leonard who came through with a jump shot from the wing and junior Meghan O'Sullivan followed with a jump shot off a feed from Liz Douglass to make it 59-44 at 6:40. The lead didn't drop below 13 the rest of the game as Castleton clinched its second NAC Title in three years.
Junior Jade Desroches earned NAC Tournament MVP honors after spearheading the Spartan attack while playing all 40 minutes. The guard scored 16 points while pulling down nine rebounds, dishing off six assists and swiping three steals. O'Sullivan was the recipient of a few of those passes as she finished with a game-high 22 points, including 15 in the first half. Leonard also came through with 18 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
The Castleton defense held the Chargers to just 25.0 percent shooting in the contest and 6-for-27 from beyond the arc while making 48.2 percent of its shots from the field. The Spartans also forced 15 turnovers and outrebounded the Chargers 40-33.
Kelsey Cahill put forth a strong effort, scoring a team-high 14 points while grabbing 11 rebounds. The junior added three assists and two blocks. Kelsey Bragdon was the only other Charger in double figures as she scored ten points and pulled down two offensive boards.
Castleton opened the game on an 8-2 run over the first four minutes and extended its lead to 12-5 on a layup by O'Sullivan with 12:01 left in the half. The Spartans pushed their advantage to 10 following an 8-3 spurt at 8:15, but the Chargers came back with a 11-4 run to close the score to 24-21 with 4:28 left on a pair of Jessica Shenkel free throws.
Leonard and Desroches combined to go on a 9-2 run and put Castleton in front 35-23 at 2:41. A 5-0 run by Bragdon cut the lead to seven, but the Spartans scored the final five points of the half for a 40-28 lead at the break.
Back-to-back layups from Heather Murdough and Leonard made it a 16-point game just 53 seconds in the second and Castleton's lead stretched to 20 on a three-point play by Desroches with 17:04 left. The Spartans lead didn't dip below 11 until the 8-0 run by the Chargers. However, Castleton response was emphatic and the team pushed its lead back to 20 before finishing with the 24-point victory.
Murdough was solid inside for the Spartans with nine points, seven rebounds and two assists. Douglass did a bit of everything with six points, eight rebounds and five assists while harassing senior guard Ashley Fruzzetti into five turnovers and 2-for-10 shooting from the field. In all, Castleton starters combined for 71 of the team's 73 points.
The Spartans improve to 25-3 with the victory, the second-highest win total in program history, while Colby-Sawyer drops to 18-10 overall. Castleton now advances to the NCAA Division III Tournament and the Spartans will find out their opponent on Monday afternoon.
NAC All-Tournament Team
Ashley Shine – Maine Maritime
Chandler Guerrette – Husson
Kelsey Bragdon – Colby-Sawyer
Kelsey Cahill – Colby-Sawyer
Meghan O'Sullivan – Castleton
Jade Desroches (MVP) - Castleton
Championship Bracket
|
Quarterfinals – Tuesday, February 25 at Higher Seed
|
|
|
(8) Thomas
|
25
|
(1) Castleton
|
75 - RECAP |
|
(7) Johnson St.
|
49
|
(2) Colby-Sawyer
|
74 - RECAP |
|
(6) Me.-Farmington
|
53
|
(3) Maine Maritime
|
59 - RECAP |
|
(5) New England Col.
|
62
|
(4) Husson
|
77 - RECAP |
|
Semifinals – Friday, February 28 at Castleton
|
|
Husson
|
55
|
Castleton
|
79 - RECAP |
|
Maine Maritime
|
61
|
Colby-Sawyer
|
67 - RECAP |
|
Finals – Saturday, March 1 at Castleton
|
|
Colby-Sawyer
|
49
|
Castleton
|
73 |
February 28, 2014
Top-seeded Castleton and No. 2 Colby-Sawyer will meet for the third-straight year to determine the North Atlantic Conference Women's Basketball title Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. The Spartans downed Husson 79-55, while the Chargers needed overtime to dispatch of Maine Maritime 67-61.
Championship Bracket
|
Quarterfinals – Tuesday, February 25 at Higher Seed
|
|
|
(8) Thomas
|
25
|
(1) Castleton
|
75 - RECAP |
|
(7) Johnson St.
|
49
|
(2) Colby-Sawyer
|
74 - RECAP |
|
(6) Me.-Farmington
|
53
|
(3) Maine Maritime
|
59 - RECAP |
|
(5) New England Col.
|
62
|
(4) Husson
|
77 - RECAP |
|
Semifinals – Friday, February 28 at Castleton
|
|
Husson
|
55
|
Castleton
|
79 - RECAP |
|
Maine Maritime
|
61
|
Colby-Sawyer
|
67 - RECAP |
|
Finals – Saturday, March 1 at Castleton
|
|
Colby-Sawyer
|
at
|
Castleton
|
2 pm - Live Coverage |
February 25, 2014
The top four seeds all advanced through the quarterfinal round of the NAC Women's Basketball Tournament Tuesday evening and will travel to top-seeded Castleton for the semifinal and final rounds Friday and Saturday.
Championship Bracket
|
Quarterfinals – Tuesday, February 25 at Higher Seed
|
|
|
(8) Thomas
|
25
|
(1) Castleton
|
75 - RECAP |
|
(7) Johnson St.
|
49
|
(2) Colby-Sawyer
|
74 - RECAP |
|
(6) Me.-Farmington
|
53
|
(3) Maine Maritime
|
59 - RECAP |
|
(5) New England Col.
|
62
|
(4) Husson
|
77 - RECAP |
|
Semifinals – Friday, February 28 at Castleton
|
|
Husson
|
at
|
Castleton
|
6 pm |
|
Maine Maritime
|
vs
|
Colby-Sawyer
|
8 pm |
|
Finals – Saturday, March 1 at Castleton
|
|
Semifinal Winners
|
February 22, 2014
Preseason favorite Castleton State College has secured the top seed in the upcoming North Atlantic Conference Women's Basketball Championship. The Spartans (22-3 overall, 17-1 NAC) will host eighth-seeded Thomas College (4-21 overall, 4-14 NAC) in a quarterfinal game on Tuesday.
Colby-Sawyer earned the second seed, finishing the season 16-9 overall, 14-3 NAC. The Chargers will host Johnson State College (7-18 overall, 7-11 NAC) which earned the seventh seed.
Third-seeded Maine Maritime Academy (16-9 overall, 13-5 NAC) will host sixth-seeded UMaine-Farmington (9-16 overall, 8-10 NAC), while fourth-seeded Husson University (14-11 overall, 13-5 NAC) hosts fifth seed New England College (14-11, 9-9 NAC) in the final quarterfinal Tuesday.
The top eight teams qualify for the NAC Championship. Predetermined tiebreaking procedures were used to seed teams with identical conference winning percentages.
Quarterfinal round games will be played on Tuesday, February 25 at the higher seed. Winners will advance to the semifinals held at the highest remaining seed on Friday, February 28. Semifinal winners will meet Saturday, March 1 at the site of the semifinal.
Game times and dates are subject to change. The NAC Champion receives an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Championship.
Championship Bracket
|
Quarterfinals – Tuesday, February 25 at Higher Seed
|
|
|
(8) Thomas
|
at
|
(1) Castleton
|
|
|
(7) Johnson St.
|
at
|
(2) Colby-Sawyer
|
|
|
(6) Me.-Farmington
|
at
|
(3) Maine Maritime
|
|
|
(5) New England Col.
|
at
|
(4) Husson
|
|
|
Semifinals – Friday, February 28 at Highest Remaining Seed
|
|
New England Col./Husson
|
vs
|
Thomas/Castleton
|
|
|
Me.-Farmington/Maine Maritime
|
vs
|
Johnson St./Colby-Sawyer
|
|
|
Finals – Saturday, March 1 at Semifinal Site
|
|
Semifinal Winners
|