FARMINGTON, Maine – Castleton State College took advantage of 32 University of Maine at Farmington turnovers and posted a 61-45 win over the Beavers, in North Atlantic Conference women's basketball Saturday afternoon at Dearborn Gym.

Castleton (18-1, 11-1 NAC) earned its entire margin of victory in the first half behind a 44.0 percent shooting performance, while holding UMaine-Farmington (6-12, 6-6 NAC) to 24.0 percent from the field. That allowed the Spartans to take a 35-19 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The second half was a whole different story.

The Beavers held the Spartans off the scoreboard for the first five minutes of the second half, eventually cutting the margin to seven points, 35-28, on a Lindsay Ranquist (Owls Head, Maine/Medomak Valley) 3-pointer at the 15:27 mark. 

Castleton answered by scoring the next five points to squelch the threat. UMaine-Farmington only briefly cut the lead to single digits with fewer than five minutes to play, on a Kenni Norton (Strong, Maine/Mt. Abram) layup to make the score 48-39. The Spartans were again able to rally, this time with a Shelby LaBarge jumper and a pair of foul shots by Tarryn Bolognani to regain a 13-point lead. 

Each team scored 26 points in the second half, with UMaine-Farmington outshooting Castleton State 39.3 percent (11-of-28) to 30.0 percent (6-of-18).

Norton led UMaine-Farmington with 18 points on 7-of-18 shooting from the field, while Ayla Allen (Rumford, Maine/Mountain Valley) came off the bench to score nine points with six boards. Holly Oliver (Belgrade Lakes, Maine/Messalonskee) also grabbed six rebounds. 

Castleton's Jade Desroches finished with a team-high 16 points and a game-high five assists. Twelve of her 16 points came on four 3-pointers, all in the first half. Bolognani logged 11 points, while Stephanie Linder charted 10.

UMF held a 40-36 advantage on the boards, including an 11-8 lead on the offensive glass, but it was in the turnovers department that the Beavers suffered the most damage. Farmington's season-high 32 turnovers yielded 27 points for Castleton, 17 of which were in the first half.

UMaine-Farmington heads to New Hampshire for a pair of games next weekend, starting with a matchup at Colby-Sawyer College on Friday, Feb. 1. Castleton State is home to host Maine Maritime in an NAC contest next Friday.

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