CASTLETON, Vt. - Despite four players tallying double figures in scoring, the Western Connecticut State University women's basketball squad was edged at Little East Conference foe Vermont State University Castleton, 85-78, on Saturday afternoon. Rookie center Nia Rencher (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) paced the Wolves with 22 points while classmate forward Fatmata Barrie (Staten Island, N.Y.) added a double-double with 16 and a game-high 10 rebounds.

Senior forward Alyssa Virtue (Groton, Conn.) and first-year guard Deona Garcia (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) chipped in with 14 and 10 points, respectively, for the visitors.

Stasia Epler led the way for the Spartans with a game-high 23 points. Emily Adams canned 16 while Maggie Mckearin netted 15 for the hosts. The Wolves were unable to stay out of foul trouble as the Spartans converted 27-of-40 free throw attempts. WestConn did not make it to the line as often, sinking just 9-of-14 strokes. 

The hosts took a 19-11 lead into the second quarter when Nolan Schuylar connected on a shot from the charity stripe. Things didn't get any easier for WestConn in the second as Castleton widened the gap to 47-33 at the break when Sadie Young converted another free throw toss. 

The Wolves chipped away at the advantage, trimming it to 62-54 to wrap up the third. WestConn continued to rally in the fourth when they sliced the deficit to 73-72 when Rencher took a feed from senior guard Nicole Peralta (North Windham, Conn.) and powered home a layup with four minutes remaining in regulation. However, the Spartans would not relinquish the lead, countering with an 8-0 run on their way to the victory.

With the loss, the Wolves dropped to 5-15 overall and 3-8 in league play, while the Spartans improved to 7-12 and 3-7. WestConn will look to rebound when they host archrival Eastern Connecticut on Wednesday at 5 p.m.