PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – In what was a closely contested game, the Plattsburgh State women's basketball team fell to Vermont State University Castleton. Plattsburgh trailed by as many as 14 points in the fourth and cut the lead to two before free throws sealed the game for Castleton.
Payton Couture (Redford, N.Y. / Saranac) was the driving force behind the Plattsburgh offense as she had 20 points and added nine rebounds.
Imani Walcott (Albany, N.Y. / Albany) also played a role in scoring as she had 16 points and added nine rebounds as well.
Other contributions for the Cardinals came from
Julia Greek (Long Island, N.Y. / Ward Melville) who had nine points, and
Mya Smith (Wappingers Falls, N.Y. / Roy C. Ketcham) who had six points and four rebounds. Two other Cardinals had four rebounds as well which were
Kathy Peterson-Ross (Lake Forest, Ill. / Lake Forest) and
Selma Deisz (Bekkestua, Norway / Nadderud VGS).
For Castleton, Elise Magro was the driving force to the Castleton win as she had 28 points to lead all scorers, five steals, five rebounds, and four assists. Liz Bailey was a factor as well as she had 14 points, seven rebounds, and three assists.
Castleton shot the ball well, shooting 45.6 % from the field. Plattsburgh shot just 35.9 % from the field but was 100.0% from the line which helped keep them in the game. Both teams capitalized off points from turnovers as Plattsburgh had 19 and Castleton 20.
Plattsburgh State falls to 2-2 and will travel to Utica University on Monday, Nov. 27 with a 6 pm start time. Castleton rises to 3-2 and they will welcome Middlebury on Tuesday, Nov. 21 with a 4 pm start time.
The Cardinals opened the first on an 11-0 run that ended at the 5:19 mark on a jumper from Kathryn Moore. Just under four minutes, Couture made a jumper that made the score 13-2 Cardinals. The Spartans responded with a jumper from Magro that made the score 13-5 Cardinals. Both teams traded buckets from the 2:25 mark until the 1:48 mark as Magro made a jumper, Couture made a layup, and Schuyler Nolan made a layup that made the score 15-10 Cardinals. Close to the end of the quarter, Walcott made a layup that made the score 17-10 Cardinals after one.
The Spartans opened the scoring in the second as Bailey made a jumper that cut the Cardinal lead to five. The Spartans scored back-to-back buckets on layups from Magro and Bailey that cut the lead to one. Walcott pushed the lead to three on a layup that made the score 19-16 Cardinals, but Nolan responded with a jumper that cut the lead back to one. With over five minutes to play, Magro made a layup off one of her five steals that made the score 20-19 Spartans and gave them their first lead of the game. The rest of the quarter had six lead changes as the Spartans went into half-time up 30-29 in this close battle.
Once the Spartans took the lead at the end of the second, they didn't give it back. The Spartans opened the third on a 5-0 run that ended at the 5:41 mark with a layup from Greek that made the score 34-32 Spartans. The Spartans increased their lead to four, but it was Greek again as she made two free throws to cut the lead to two. Both teams exchanged buckets as Magro made a layup and Smith followed it up with a layup of her own that made the score 38-36 Spartans. The Spartans ended the third on a 6-0 run that made the score 50-38 Spartans going into the fourth.
The Spartans opened the fourth on a jumper from Bailey and Couture responded with a three that made the score 52-41 Spartans with nine to play. With a little over six minutes the Cardinals scored back-to-back buckets both coming from Couture that made the score 56-47 Spartans. A little over three minutes to play Peterson-Ross made a three that cut the lead to eight and it was followed up by a layup from Greek to cut the lead to six. With under a minute to go, Couture fouled Stasia Epler to stop the clock and get the ball back after free throws. Epler missed her second free throw, and the Cardinals took advantage with a layup from Walcott that made the score 61-56 Spartans. The Cardinal fouled Epler again and she missed both free throws. The Cardinals called a timeout after the miss to advance the ball and took advantage of that possession as Walcott made an and-one layup that cut the lead to two. Two was the closest the Cardinals came as Emily Adams and Magro made free throws to seal the win 65-59 Spartans.
