Women's Basketball Falls to Castleton to open 2013-14 Season

North Dartmouth, Mass. – The Framingham State University women's basketball team opened the 2013-14 season with a 71-50 loss to Castleton State College in the opening round of the Fairfield Inn & Suites Classic on Friday afternoon.

Castleton State (1-0) received solid efforts from senior Alyssa Leonard (Amherst, Mass.), junior Meghan O'Sullivan (North Merrick, N.Y.) and senior Li Douglass (Rutland, V.T.).  Leonard managed to post a game-high16 points despite being heavily shadowed by Framingham State defenders. O'Sullivan notched 15 points on 7-of-12 shooting, while Douglass contributed tens points and dished out seven assists. The leading rebounders for the Spartans were Jade Desroches (Berkshire, V.T.) and Heather Murdough (Hillsborough, N.H.) with nine a piece.

Framingham State (0-1) was led by senior Kristen Hoffman (Foxboro, Mass.) who posted 14 points, seven rebounds and seven steals during 38 minutes of action. Junior Margo McCarthy (Southampton, Mass.) dropped in 13 points and snagged six boards, while sophomore Kerry Coyne (North Attleboro, Mass.) scored ten points and reeled in seven caroms.   

The Spartans jumped out to an early 10-4 lead, capped by a jumper from senior Shelby LaBarge (St. Albans, V.T.). The Rams would tie the game at 18-18 with 6:58 left in the first half following a pair of free throws from Hoffman, but Castleton State would use a 12-4 run to take the lead into the half.

With the score 33-32 in the second half, the Spartans turned up the offensive intensity. Leonard and O'Sullivan drained back-to-back jumpers and Douglass found Desroches for a three ball.

Any hopes of a late game comeback by Framingham State were squashed when freshman guard Lindsey Sabo (Stanhope, N.J.) connected with Douglass behind the arc to increase their lead to 19 points with just less than three minutes remaining in regulation. 

Castleton State out rebounded Framingham State 46-34 and held the Rams to just 27.3 percent shooting, including 2-for-21 from behind the arc.   

The Spartans will be taking on host UMass Dartmouth in the championship game of the Fairfield Inn & Suites Classic tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. Framingham State will take on Elms College in the consolation game at noon.

Release courtesy of UMD Sports Information.