CASTINE, MAINE -- Castleton State College withstood a late Maine Maritime Academy surge to escape Castine with a 50-47 win in a North Atlantic Conference women's basketball game Saturday afternoon. The Spartans remained perfect at 8-0 overall, 4-0 NAC while the Mariners fell to 3-3, 2-1.

Jade Desroches scored a game-high 13 points for Castleton while Casey Everest and Leah Jackson paced Maine Maritime with 12 points each. Jackson added 12 rebounds for her second double-double of the season.

After the seventh and final tie of the game, 40-40 with 6:09 left in the second, Castleton scored six unanswered to lead 46-40 with 3:02 left in the game. Stephanie Linder scored a three, Tarryn Bolognani and Liz Douglas each had a layup and Meghan O'Sullivan hit a free throw in the run for the Spartans. 

A pair of Courtney Dufour free throws with 57 seconds left put the Mariners within, two, 47-45. O'Sullivan's jumper 10 seconds later gave CSC a 49-45 lead before Alexis Bennett converted a pair of free throws with 16 seconds left to make it 49-47. Desroches gave the Spartans some breathing room with a free throw with 14 seconds left and MMA couldn't sink two shot attempts in the final 10 seconds.

The Mariners jumped out to a 7-2 lead six minutes into the game. Everest drained a three and Hannah Lyons and Kari Jones both scored on layups for Maine Maritime. The Spartans responded with six unanswered points --  two points each from Shelby LeBarge, Heather Murdough and Meghan O'Sullivan -- to go up one, 8-7, with 9:28 left in the opening half. 

MMA countered Castleton's run with one of its own, netting eight straight (four each from Jackson and Everest), to lead 15-8 with 6:49 left in the half. The Spartans topped the Mariners scoring surge with a 9-0 run to go ahead by two, 17-15, with 2:21 left in the first. Jade Desroches starters the run with a pair of treys, Alyssa Leonard hit a jumper and LaBarge netted a free throw for the Spartans. A jumper from Everest evened the game at 17-17 before Castleton ended the half with a 6-2 run to lead 23-19 at the break.

CASTLETON 50, MAINE MARITIME ACADEMY 47

 CASTLETON (8-0, 4-0 NAC)

Jade Desroches 4-9 2-4 13; Alyssa Leonard 2-9 2-2 6; Meghan O'Sullivan 1-12 4-6 6; Liz Douglass 2-9 2-4 6; Stephanie Linder 2-4 1-2 6; Shelby LaBarge 2-3 1-2 5; Heather Murdough 1-4 2-2 4; Tarryn Bolognani 1-3 2-2 4; Stephanie Bull 0-3 0-0 0; Kelly Conway 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 15-57 16-24 50.

MAINE MARITIME ACADEMY (3-3, 2-1 NAC)

Leah Jackson 5-10 2-8 12; Casey Everest 4-7 3-4 12; Bekah Campbell 4-8 0-3 8; Alexis Bennett 1-4 4-4 6; Courtney DuFour 1-7 2-2 5; Kari Jones 1-2 0-0 2; Hanna Lyons 1-6 0-0 2; Devyn Curless-Clark 0-4 0-0 0; Jillian Perron 0-2 0-0 0; Alyssa Severance 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-50 11-21 47.

Castleton.....................   23   27  -   50

Maine Maritime Academy........   19   28  -   47

3-point goals--Castleton 4-20 (Jade Desroches 3-8; Stephanie Linder 1-1; Meghan O'Sullivan 0-2; Liz Douglass 0-3; Heather Murdough 0-1; Tarryn Bolognani 0-1; Kelly Conway 0-1; Alyssa Leonard 0-3), Maine Maritime Academy 2-10 (Casey Everest 1-2; Courtney DuFour 1-6; Alexis Bennett 0-2). Fouled out--Castleton-None, Maine Maritime Academy-None. Rebounds--Castleton 46 (Meghan O'Sullivan 8), Maine Maritime Academy 41 (Leah Jackson 12). Assists--Castleton 8 (Liz Douglass 3), Maine Maritime Academy 8 (Devyn Curless-Clark 2; Leah Jackson 2). Total fouls--Castleton 16, Maine Maritime Academy 22. Technical fouls--Castleton-None, Maine Maritime Academy-None. A-68