Potsdam, N.Y. - Offensive struggles plagued the Clarkson University Women's Basketball team, Wednesday evening, as the team would drop a non-league matchup with Vermont State University Castleton at Alumni Gymnasium. 

Clarkson draws even to 2-2 in 2025 while Castleton improves to 3-1. The Knights travel to Utica on Saturday to take on the Wildcats of SUNY Poly at 1 p.m.

Both teams started the contest slow with a Spartan layup at the 8:33 mark opening scoring. The scoreboard would be knotted at 2-2 and 4-4 with back to back layups from Addie Kea and Emma Chambers, offsetting Castleton buckets. Stasia Epler would then connect on a three for the visitors to push the lead to three before Bella Doyle answered with a mid-range jumper to bring the lead back to one. That would be the last time Clarkson would be close as Castleton would use an 8-0 run over the next two minutes to stretch the advantage to 15-6. Baskets from Alexis Kress and Kate Campbell cut the deficit to 17-10 after one. 

The Spartans would score the first four points of the second, stretching the lead to 11, but Kea would connect on a long distance attempt to bring it back to 21-13 just over a minute in. Doyle would power her way in for another layup a possession later as the Knights continued to look to chip away on the scoreboard. However, a 10-3 stretch up to the 1:38 mark saw Castleton stretch that lead back to 31-18. Kea and Doyle would again cancel out Spartan buckets with less than 90 seconds remaining in the half, meaning that the visitors would take a 33-22 advantage into the break. 

Fallon Griffin would open the second-half scoring for the Knights with a three off a dish from Chambers but another mini 5-0 run from Castleton continued to keep the lead just out of reach. Another jumper from Kea would cut the lead to 39-27 with 6:49 on the clock, again the closest that Clarkson would get following three straight layups by the visitors. The Knights would close out the third with fruitful trips to the charity stripe from Kea and Doyle but both 2-2 attempts would still mean the Spartans would take a 53-37 lead into the final 10. 

Castleton would open up the fourth on a 7-2 run up to the six minute mark as Clarkson continued to struggle to build continuity on the offensive end. A Campbell jumper at the 5:53 mark preceded a three minute scoring drought for both sides characterized by turnovers and misses from beyond the arc. Riley Cullen would break that drought with a powerful finish in the paint, cutting the lead back to 59-43 but a Chambers free throw and Eliana York jumper over the remaining two minutes would not be enough as Castleton would see out the 62-46 final. 

Both teams struggled from three-point range, shooting a combined 5-26 from beyond the arc. The rebound battle was even with 33 for both sides, Clarkson managed to grab 26 defensive boards to Castleton's 23. The Spartans never trailed in the contest and would hold the upper hand in fastbreak points (9-2), points off turnovers (18-5) and points in the paint (36-20) while the Knights received a steady contribution from the reserves, holding an 11-6 advantage in bench points. 

Doyle led Clarkson with 13 points on 5-8 shooting as well as posting three assists, two steals and four blocks. Kea would supply 11 points as the only other Golden Knight in double figures with three assists of her own. Elizabeth Aiossa grabbed eight boards to lead the team. Emily Adams scored a game-high 20 points for the Spartans while Arianna Coombs (12) and Stasia Epler (16) both tallied over ten points. Schuylar Nolan put together a five assist, seven rebound performance, leading the Spartan offensive sets.