PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Sophomore
Jalen Cook (Bristol, Vt.) scored five points in overtime, including a key three-pointer, and freshman
Sabrina Vlahovic (New Hope, Pa.) sank four clutch free throws in the final seconds as Plymouth State University held off Castleton University, 56-51, in a Little East Conference (LEC) women's basketball game at Foley Gymnasium on Wednesday night.
Cook hit in the lane to give the Panthers a quick lead in OT, then connected from beyond the arc to extend the advantage to 52-46 with 1:28 to go. Castleton would cut the deficit to as little as three, but Vlahovic was perfect from the line on four attempts over the final 12 seconds to ice the victory.
Sophomore
Alessia Salzillo (Saugus, Mass.) led the Panthers with a team-high 16 points.
Plymouth State picks up its first win of the season to improve to 1-2 (1-2 LEC), while Castleton drops its season opener to fall to 0-1 (0-1 LEC).
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 56, Castleton 51 (OT)
- Plymouth State (1-2, 1-2 LEC)
- Castleton (0-1, 0-1 LEC)
Top Performers:
- Plymouth State
- Castleton
- Brooke Raiche (25 pts, 5-9 3-pt, 7 reb)
- Emilee Bose (8 pts, 14 reb)
- Elise Magro (8 pts, 6 asst)
How it Happened:
- Salzillo got PSU off to a good start, drilling a triple on the opening possession and freshman Jessica Ruiz (Lynn, Mass.) scored from inside for an early 5-0 advantage.
- Senior Brooke Raiche (Ira, Vt.) nailed her first three attempts from distance as the Spartans pulled ahead, 9-7, with less than four minutes left in the opening frame and the visitors held a 13-8 advantage at the end of one.
- Plymouth State opened the second with a 9-2 spurt behind five points from Salzillo to go ahead, 17-15, midway through the quarter.
- Castleton rallied to take a slight, 21-20 lead into the halftime intermission.
- The Spartans scored the first six points of the second half to extend the lead, and the guests still led, 33-26, with 4:23 left in the third.
- PSU clawed back and sophomore Bella Earle (South Hadley, Mass.) banked in a turnaround jumper at the buzzer for a 34-33 advantage.
- The teams traded the lead over the first five minutes of the fourth quarter before Earle's free throw and Salzillo's jumper gave the Panthers a 43-39 advantage at the two-minute mark.
- PSU still led by four, 45-41, with 22 seconds remaining, but Raiche knocked down her fourth three-pointer of the night and, after PSU split a pair of free throws, she connected twice from the charity stripe to even the score at 46-46.
- The Panthers' game-winning attempt at the buzzer was offline, sending the teams to OT.
- Cook came alive in the extra frame, scoring from inside on the first possession and burying a clutch triple with 1:28 to play to give PSU a 52-46 lead.
- The Spartans cut the margin in half (54-51) on Raiche's final three with four seconds left, but Vlahovic knocked down her free throws to seal the victory.
By the Numbers:
- PSU's bench came up big, outscoring its counterparts by a 20-2 margin.
- Castleton held a small 44-40 advantage on the glass.
- Plymouth State went 17-of-24 (71%) from the free throw line, while the Spartans were 8-of-12 (67%).
- The Panthers have won three straight overtime games, including the last two at home. PSU's last OT victory came almost two years to the day (Feb. 9, 2019), an 89-87 double-overtime thriller against then league-leading UMass Dartmouth.
Up Next:
- Both teams are back in action on Saturday (Feb. 13). Plymouth State heads to Rhode Island College for a noon tip-off, while the Spartans visit UMass Dartmouth at 4:00 p.m.
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