Castleton, VT — The Northern Vermont University-Johnson women's basketball team traveled to Castleton University for a non-conference matchup against the Spartans on Saturday afternoon. The Badgers were dropped by the Spartans 63-33 in the lone matchup between the former conference foes as Castleton moved to the Little East Conference during the off-season.
The Badgers began the game at a slower tempo than typical as they looked to use the full shot clock to limit offensive possessions for the Spartans. Castleton jumped out to an early 7-0 lead but the Badgers persisted with a strong 2-3 zone defense to tie the game up with four minutes remaining in the first quarter. Johnson found themselves down 11-9 entering the second quarter.
At the start of the second quarter, The Badgers looked to break the game open. With some timely shooting and on-point free throw shooting by senior Kaitlyn Brouard (Milton, VT) and freshman Alexandra Barry (Hopewell Jct, NY), the Badgers took an early 16-11 lead. Castleton stormed back to retake the lead. The Spartans went 7-8 from the line in the second quarter to afford them a 26-19 lead over the Badgers going into halftime.
Entering the third quarter, the Badgers were poised to cut into the Spartans' lead. Castleton denied the Badgers after making offensive adjustments at halftime that found the cracks in Johnson's defense, allowing the Spartans to extend their lead to 42-27 at the end of the third quarter.
With the start of the fourth quarter, the Badgers looked to speed up the pace offensively, hoping to catch the Spartans on their heels. Castleton would not be denied, hitting three 3-point shots in the quarter to break the game open. Despite Johnson playing some of their best defense of the season thus far, the Badgers fell short 63-33.
Six of seven active players scored for the Badgers in a contest where all active players saw a significant amount of time. The Badgers were led by senior Brouard with 10 points. Junior Lindsey LaPerle (Bethel, VT) and Barry followed close behind with eight points a piece. Barry was also the top rebounder for the Badgers with eight boards.
UP NEXT
The Badgers will face former conference foe Green Mountain College in a non-conference matchup at Carter Gymnasium on Wednesday, November 28th. The women's game is slated to begin at 7:30pm following the men's 5:30pm matchup.