CASTLETON, Vt.. – Sophomore guard Alyssa Leonard (Amherst, Mass.) pumped in a game-high 20 points as Castleton State College built a 10-point halftime lead, and held on down the stretch for a 67-66 win over St. Joseph's College (Me.) in the Championship of the Rutland Herald Women's Basketball Tip-Off Tournament Saturday afternoon 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.

Ashley Geel (St. George, Maine) led the Monks with 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Allie Parent (Camden, Maine) added 15 points, while Nicole Kapothanas (Westbrook, Maine) tossed in 13 off the bench.

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. Joseph's sliced the deficit to 28-27 with an 11-4 run of its own, capped by a Kapothanas 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 Kapothanas who finished 3-for-5 from downtown. Seven-straight from Kapothanas brought the game within single digits by the 12-minute mark, and with 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.

Castleton improves to 2-0 for the first time since the 1987-88 season. The Monks even their record at 1-1.

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

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