CASTLETON, VT – Saint Joseph's (2-1) fell to host Castleton State College (2-0), 67-66, in the Rutland Herald Women's Basketball Tip-Off Tournament Championship game on Saturday afternoon. Senior center Ashley Geel (St. George, Maine) recorded her second double-double of the season with 20 points and 12 boards in the loss.

Sophomore guard Alyssa Leonard (Amherst, Mass.) – the Tournament MVP - pumped in 20 points to help the Spartans build a 10-point halftime lead at Glenbrook Gymnasium.

Freshman guard Alyssa Moore (Rutland, Vt.) came off the bench to score 15 points, including 13 in the first half, while Tarryn Bolognani (Whittingham, Vt.) added nine and seniors Vanessa Powers (Marshfield, Vt.) and Christine Jaques (Burlington, Vt.) each added eight. Moore was pure from the field, shooting 6-for-7, including 3-for-4 from distance.

Senior forward Allie Parent (Camden, Maine) netted 15 points and freshman guard Nicole Kapothanasis (Westbrook, Maine) tossed in 13 off the bench. Megan McDevitt '12 (Cumberland, Maine) and Danyelle Shufelt '13 (Sutton, Vt.) chipped in with seven points apiece. Geel and Parent garnered All-Tournament honors for their play in the Monks' two tourney tilts.

Castleton trailed 16-10 with 12 minutes left in the opening frame, but a 13-0 run over the next three minutes quickly erased the deficit giving Castleton a lead it would not relinquish. Moore fueled the surge off the bench, wrapping a trio of three-pointers around a Meghan O'Sullivan (Merrick, N.Y.) jumper.

St. Joe's sliced the deficit to 28-27 with an 11-4 run of its own, capped by a Kapothanasis triple with 6:25 remaining before intermission. The Spartans were able to answer stretching the lead to 39-29 by halftime as Moore and Leonard combined for eight points during the run.

Castleton stretched its lead to as many as 13 in the second half as Leonard sliced through the lane, finishing for three points the old fashioned way, giving the Spartans a 46-33 lead with 15 minutes remaining.

The Monks held strong, repeatedly going inside to Geel, while relying on the outside shooting of Kapothanasis who finished 3-for-5 from downtown. Seven-straight from Kapothanasis brought the game within single digits by the 12-minute mark, and three minutes later the Monks had pulled even at 60-60.

From that point on, Leonard stepped in, scoring Castleton's final seven points down the stretch to earn the win and Tournament MVP.

With five seconds remaining, the Monks took the ball out of bounds in front of the SJC bench but were unable to convert as a three-point shot by Parent was off target.

Saint Joseph's shot 43.4% (25-53) from the field, 33.3% (5-15) from three-point range, and 68.2% (15-22) from the line in the loss. Castleton shot 43.9% (25-57) overall, 23.5% (4-17) from downtown, and 65% (13-20) from the charity stripe en route to victory.

The Spartans held a slim 37-36 edge in rebounds and forced 22 SJC turnovers while committing 18 miscues in the inaugural Rutland Herald Tip-Off Championship contest. Both teams posted 13 assists on the afternoon.

Saint Joseph's is now 1-1 in the history of the series with Castleton, which improves to 2-0 for the first time since the 1987-88 season with the result. The Monks defeated the Spartans, 69-51, on February 1st, 2003 in the only other meeting between the programs.

Castleton takes to the road Tuesday when the Spartans travel to Plymouth State for a 5:30 PM tip-off, while St. Joe's is off until November 27 at 5:30 PM when the Monks host Southern Maine in a battle for the Costello Cup.

All-Tournament:

Simmons College: Liz O'Connor
Elms College: Denisha Parks
Saint Joseph's College:  Ashley Geel
Saint Joseph's College: Allie Parent
Castleton State College: Tarryn Bolognani
Castleton State College: Alyssa Leonard (MVP) 

COURTESY OF CASTLETON STATE COLLEGE SPORTS INFORMATION