CASTLETON, Vermont  - Senior Liz Cote (Conway, N.H./Kennett) scored a game-high 19 points, shooting 7-for-15 from the field, and snagged six rebounds to lead three players in double-figures scoring as the University of Southern Maine Huskies rallied to defeat the Vermont State University Castleton Spartans 58-56 in a Little East Conference women's basketball game Saturday afternoon at Glenbrook Gymnasium. 
 
Senior Tara Flanders (Windham, Maine) had 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds for the Huskies, shooting 6-for-14 from the floor, while senior Tamrah Gould (Manchester, N.H./Manchester Memorial) added 10 points. Gould scored eight of her 10 points in the four quarter as the Huskies overcame a five-point deficit in the final frame. Senior Amy Fleming (Berwick, Maine/Noble) added seven points, seven rebounds and four assists.
 
Liz Bailey led the Spartans with 18 points, six rebounds, two assists and three blocked shots, going 8-for-14 from the field, while Elise Magro tossed in 15 points and snagged a team-high eight rebounds.  Magro added three assists and two steals.
 
The Records:
Southern Maine (7-9, 5-2 Little East)
VTSU-Castleton (8-8, 2-5 Little East)
 
Today's game marked the 12^th meeting between the University of Southern Maine Huskies and the Vermont State University Castleton Spartans.  Castleton leads the overall series 7-5. The Spartans took a 70-57 win over the Huskies in the 2023 Little East Conference quarterfinals.  Southern Maine last defeated VTSU-Castleton on December 11, 2021 in overtime 71-64.
 
How It Happened:

• . Ahead 5-4 after a three from Cote and a layup from Gould to start the game, the Huskies found themselves trailing the Spartans by 10 with 3:54 remaining in the first quarter.  After Gould's bucket in the paint, Castleton outscored USM 13-2 as Bailey and Magro scored seven and six points a piece.  USM closed the quarter outscoring Castleton 5-2 on jumper from Cote and a three from junior Luna Love (Zwolle, Netherlands), but trailed 19-12 headed into the second.
• Bailey continued to score in the paint and scored the first bucket of the second to keep the Spartans up by three possessions 21-12 with 9:41. After going back-and-forth over the next few possessions, Castleton's Kathryn Moore made it a 26-19 game with 5:25 to go, before the Huskies closed on a 10-2 run to take a 29-28 lead into the break.  After Moore's bucket, USM scored six straight, including a game-tying (26-26) layup from Cote at 3:58.  Castleton's Arianna Coombs broke up the run with a layup, but it was the last bucket of the half for the Spartans as Cote hit a three in the final minute for the 29-28 Husky lead.
• Castleton and Southern Maine traded scored to open the third and USM led 33-30 on a second-chance bucket from Flanders with 6:35 to play, but it was the last field goal of the third for the Huskies.  Castleton outscored USM 11-1 to close the third and lead 39-34 headed into the fourth.
• Cote struck first for the Huskies in the fourth, making it a 39-37 game starting a 15-6 spurt that spanned the first four minutes and 31 seconds of the fourth.  Cote's three at the 6:11 mark gave USM the lead, while another Flanders' second-chance bucket had USM up 48-45 with 5:29 to play.
• After a Moore bucket made it a one-point game, 48-47, on Castleton's next possession, the Huskies ran off five straight, including a strong driving layup from Gould.
• Castleton cut the Husky lead to two twice in the final two minutes, and trailed 53-51 after a bucket from Magro, but Gould again answered to keep USM up 55-51 with 1:50 remaining. From there the Huskies were able to get enough from the free throw line to take the win 58-56. 

 
Inside The Stats:

• The Huskies shot 29.0 percent (20-for-69) from the floor in the game, but scored 16 points off of second-chance buckets, owning a 49-41 lead in rebounding and a 20-9 advantage on the offensive glass. Fleming and junior Jade Smedberg (Oxford, Maine/Oxford Hills) had four and three offensive boards, respectively.
• Castleton shot 36.8 percent (21-for-57) from the field, but had 12 less offensive possession than the Huskies.
• The Huskies shot a solid 53.85 percent (7-for-13) from the field in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Spartans  24-17. 

 
Up Next:
Southern Maine remains on the road for its next contest at Plymouth State on Wednesday (5:30 pm). The Huskies return home on Saturday, January 20 (1:00 pm) hosting Keene State College.