CASTLETON, Vt. – Sophomore guard Stephanie Bull (Milton, Vt.) scored a career-high 18 points off the bench to lead four Spartans in double figures as Castleton State College earned a 73-48 win over visiting University of Maine at Farmington in North Atlantic Conference women's basketball acion.
With the win the Spartans have now won eight straight and improve to 14-4 overall and 11-1 in conference play. UMF moves to 6-11, 5-6 on the season.
Senior Vanessa Powers (Marshfield, Vt.) posted a double-double 12 points and 14 rebounds, while Tarryn Bolognani (Whitingham, Vt.) tossed in 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting. Alyssa Leonard (Amherst, Mass.) rounded out the Spartans in double figures with 14 points and seven boards.
Kenni Norton (Strong, Maine) was the lone Beaver in double figures with 13, while Paige Saunders (Surry, Maine) added eight points, six rebounds and four blocks.
Castleton never trailed in the contest, but the Beavers refused to go away quietly, trailing 13-10 on a Hannah Roy (Bath, Maine) triple with 13:05 remaining. But, the Spartans used a 16-3 run over the next seven minutes of action to push the lead to 16 at 29-13. Bolognani had eight during the run, including a pair of three-pointers set up nicely by Christine Jaques (Burlington, Vt.) and Leonard in succession. The Spartans continued to push, outscoring their guests 14-5 over the final six minutes, while holding the Beavers without a field goal for the final seven, to take a 43-28 lead into the interval.
A Norton three-pointer with 13:53 left in the second half cut the Beaver deficit to 49-31, but it was as close as they would come as Castleton answered by scoring the next 12-straight points to push the lead to 30.
Castleton shot 42.4% from the field (28-66) while limiting the Beavers to just 28.6% (16-56).
NOTABLES: Castleton has allowed over 50 points just once during its eight-game winning streak… The Spartans took over sole possession of first place in the NAC by virtue of their win, and a 57-53 win by Maine Maritime over Husson… The Spartans will square off with both Maine Maritime and Husson next weekend in Maine