BANGOR, Maine – 2016 North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Tournament MVP Kenzie Worcester scored a game-high 22 points to help propel Husson University to their first NAC Women's Basketball Championship since 2011 and their third overall with a 58-49 win over Castleton University on Saturday afternoon inside Newman Gym.

Husson (21-6) wins its 13th straight home game, while Castleton (21-6) drops its first championship game since 2013 and falls to 16-10 in the all-time series.

Husson connected on its opening three shots from downtown two from Worcester and one from Chandler Guerrette for a 9-3 lead over the first four minutes. A Bryanna duPont layup cut the deficit to four but the Eagles pushed it to 16-7 with 2:38 left thanks in part to Darla Morales, Victoria McIntyre and Anna MacKenzie. duPont answered, but Husson scored the final eight points of the period with six of the eight points coming from Worcester  for a 24-9 lead.

In the second Castleton scored first, but couldn't trim the deficit any more as the Eagles stretched it to 28-13 two minutes later when Worcester sank two free throws. The Spartans responded with an 8-2- run, cutting the lead to 30-21 on a duPont layup with 2:49 left. Castleton held the Eagles scoreless for the rest of the period but couldn't covert either as Husson took a 30-21 lead into the intermission.

Husson extended its lead to 36-24 in the opening four minutes of the third, before Farrara ended the run with a triple. The Spartans countered with a run of their own and made it a 38-34 game on four straight points from Lindsay Sabo with 2:11 left. However, a 7-2 run by the Guerrette and MacKenzie gave Husson a nine-point edge going into the fourth.

Castleton scored the first five points of the period to trim it to 45-41 on a corner three by Sabo with 7:13 remaining. The junior made it a two-point game less than a minute later, but a three-point play by Worcester pushed it to five. The Spartans had two chances on its next possession but couldn't covert and Husson responded with five straight points from Worcester and Morales for a 53-43 lead with 4:02 left.

Back-to-back triples from Makayla Farrara cut the deficit to just four points with 1:05 and she then recorded a steal on the inbound. However, Sabo's three was off the mark and Castleton was forced to foul. Worcester, Guerrette and Morales made all their free throws in the last minute to clinch their third NAC championship in program history.

Worcester paced the Eagles with three rebounds and two steals to go along with her 22 points while Guerrette chipped in 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists. McIntyre added ten rebounds, six points and a block. MacKenzie added nine points and ten rebounds off the bench.

duPont led the Spartans with 14 points, eight rebounds and two steals. Sabo added 11 points and two assists while Farrara had 11 points, three assists and two steals. Ashlie Fay came off the bench to chip in eight rebounds, six points, four steals and two assists. 

2016 NAC All-Tournament Team:
MVP - Kenzie Worcester, Husson
Bryanna duPont, Castleton
Makayla Farrara, Castleton
Marjani Lillard, New England College
Victoria McIntyre, Husson
Kristi Willey, Maine Maritime

Husson will now wait for selection Monday at 2:30 p.m. to see who they will play in the 2016 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship Tournament.