Box Score CASTLETON, Vt. – March 1, 2014 - The Colby-Sawyer women's basketball team fell to Castleton, 74-49 in the North Atlantic Conference Championship on Saturday afternoon in Glenbrook Gym. The two teams have met in the past three championship games. 

BOX SCORE

The Chargers were trailing by 19 in the second half, but an 8-0 run closed the gap to 55-44 with 8:26 left in regulation, prompting a Castleton timeout. Out of the break, it was senior Alyssa Leonard who came through with a jump shot from the wing and junior Meghan O'Sullivan followed with a jump shot off a feed from Liz Douglass to make it 59-44 at 6:40. The Spartans went on for the 74-49 victory.  

Junior Jade Desroches earned NAC Tournament MVP honors after spearheading the Spartan attack while playing all 40 minutes. The guard scored 16 points while pulling down nine rebounds, dishing off six assists and swiping three steals. O'Sullivan was the recipient of a few of those passes as she finished with a game-high 22 points, including 15 in the first half. Leonard also came through with 18 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Kelsey Cahill put forth a strong effort, scoring a team-high 14 points while grabbing 11 rebounds. The junior added three assists and two blocks. Kelsey Bragdon was the only other Charger in double figures as she scored ten points and pulled down two offensive boards. Cahill and Bragdon were named to the All-Tournament team. 

Castleton opened the game on an 8-2 run over the first four minutes and extended its lead to 12-5 on a layup by O'Sullivan with 12:01 left in the half. The Spartans pushed their advantage to 10 following an 8-3 spurt at 8:15, but the Chargers came back with a 11-4 run to close the score to 24-21 with 4:28 left on a pair of Jessica Shenkel free throws.

Leonard and Desroches combined to go on a 9-2 run and put Castleton in front 35-23 at 2:41. A 5-0 run by Bragdon cut the lead to seven, but the Spartans scored the final five points of the half for a 40-28 lead at the break.

Back-to-back layups from Heather Murdough and Leonard made it a 16-point game just 53 seconds in the second and Castleton's lead stretched to 20 on a three-point play by Desroches with 17:04 left. The Spartans lead didn't dip below 11 until the 8-0 run by the Chargers. However, Castleton pushed its lead back to 20 before finishing with the 24-point victory.

Colby-Sawyer drops to 18-10 and will wait to see if the team has earned a bid to the ECAC Tournament.