Castleton, Vt. - December 9, 2008 - The Colby-Sawyer Chargers dropped a tough 59-53 decision to the Castleton State Spartans in non-conference action at Glenbrook Gymnasium.

With the game knotted at 38-38, and just over 11 minutes remaining, Castleton guards Jess Banks, Katie Hoxsie and Mary Nienow keyed the Spartan run to take control of the contest. Hoxsie canned a baseline jumper to give Castleton a lead it would not relinquish, followed by five consecutive points from Nienow and back-to-back three-pointers from Banks.

Colby-Sawyer answered with back-to-back buckets of its own from Amy Hebert (Keene, N.H.) and Terri Duffy (Marshfield, Mass.), but Banks sunk another three-pointer to put a stop to the run.

Colby-Sawyer clung to a 27-26 halftime lead, thanks to eight points from senior Emma Pasquale (Eliot, Maine). Erinn O'Rourke and LeeAnne Ketchen each tallied eight in the first half to keep the Spartans close as Castleton struggled to just 1-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc and 9-of-23 from the field. In the second half Castleton found its range, making all four of its three-point attempts and shooting 50% (11-of-22) from the field.

Duffy led the 5-3 Chargers with 12 points and eight rebounds, while Pasquale ended the night with 11 points and eight rebounds. Ellen Naughton (Reading, Mass.) rounded out the Chargers in double figures with 10.

Castleton was paced four Spartans in double figures, with Kristie Dunchus leading the way with 12 points and six rebounds. Banks ended up with 11 points all in the second half to go along with nine assists and six rebounds. Ketchen and O'Rourke rounded out the double-figure scorers for the 4-3 Spartans with 11 and 10, respectively.

Colby-Sawyer wraps up its first half on Thursday when the Chargers play host to Bowdoin at 5:30 pm.