Team Records: 
Eastern: 6-8 (3-2 LEC) 
Castleton: 5-8 (1-4 LEC)  
 
Series History: 

• 17th meeting of all time, dating back to the 1985-86 season. The Warriors hold the all-time series lead, 14-2
• Prior to the 2018-19 season, the teams only played each other twice, in the 1985-86 season and the 2008-09 season. Both matches were won by Eastern, which defeated the Spartans by a total of 62 points
• Castleton's entry into the Little East Conference in 2018 also marked their first-ever win against Eastern. The Spartans beat the Warriors by a score of 59-48 at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium in Willimantic. Its second win five years later was emphatic, defeating the Warriors 65-39, also at Geissler Gym
• Last season, the conference opponents shared home-and-home matchups against each other. The first game was played at Glenbrook Gymnasium in Castleton and Eastern won 78-66. Eastern's Taylor Salato, a senior that year, led all players with 27 points and 12 rebounds. Liv Cassesse and Marissa Nudd combined for 39 points and 18 rebounds, with both expected to play a major role Wednesday. Castleton's two leading scorers on the January 16th meeting were Stasia Epler (21 points) and Maggie McKearin (12 points). The pair make up two of the Spartans' seven active players 
• Last February 15, the Warriors faced the Spartans for their second of two matches last season. Eastern won, 62-58, and the same players stood out for their respective teams. This time, Eastern's Salato had 29 points on her Senior Night, while Epler dropped 21 again for the Spartans. Epler was the only player to play all 40 minutes that day.

Game Notes:  

• VTSU Castleton finished the 2024-25 season with a 7-18 record, going 3-13 in the conference. The Spartans did not qualify for the LEC playoffs
• Eastern finished the 2024-25 season 11-15, with a 10-6 conference record. In the first round of the LEC playoffs, the host Warriors lost to Keene State
• Eastern and Castleton have both played three LEC opponents this season. Both lost to Keene State and defeated Plymouth State, but the difference lies with UMass Dartmouth. Eastern beat the Corsairs at home by six points last week for head coach Mandy King's 300^th victory, while Castleton lost by ten at Dartmouth on December 6
• The Warriors are coming off an 18-point win at Plymouth on Saturday, while the Spartans are coming off a 21-point home loss to conference unbeaten Southern Maine
• Eastern's Nudd and Cassesse rank 2-3 in the conference in minutes played, with 551 and 521, respectively. Castleton's Epler ranks ninth (441)
• Alyssa Paquette of the Warriors ranks second in blocks in the conference, with 27
• Castleton's Schuylar Nolan ranks third in the LEC in assist/turnover ratio. The guard has 47 assists on the season and 30 turnovers
• Emily Adams leads the Spartans with 112 rebounds, only four behind Western Connecticut's Leana Heitmann. Adams' 51 offensive rebounds lead the conference; Nudd of Eastern is only two behind in this category
• Eastern shoots 39 percent as a team, while Castleton is marginally above last-place Western Connecticut, shooting 35.3%. Adams and Epler are the two Spartans to average double-digit points per game this season, with 11.8 and 11.6, respectively
• The Warriors have three players who average ten or more points. Nudd leads the way with 17.1 points per game, Cassesse has 13.1, and three-time LEC Rookie of the Week Maddie Topa averages 10.1
• First-year Eastern head coach King  sits at 301 wins following Eastern's victory at Plymouth State Saturday

Upcoming:  

The Warriors head on the road for a 1 p.m. Little East Conference matchup Saturday at Warren Hill Gymnasium against conference-leading Southern Maine (12-1, 5-0 LEC), ranked first in the LEC pre-season poll after reaching last year's LEC tournament finals as the No. 3 seed. Prior to the meeting on Saturday, third-year head coach David Chadbourne and the Huskies will host reigning conference champion UMass Dartmouth on Wednesday. Southern Maine will face the Corsairs for the first time since last season's heavy (94-50) defeat in the LEC championship game.
Eastern split the games with Southern Maine last season, defeating the Huskies by ten points at home in a strong defensive showing, limiting its opponents to 40 points. Southern Maine responded in their meeting nearly two months later, defeating the Warriors at home, 69-49.

Eastern head coach King played her collegiate career at Southern Maine under legendary USM head coach Gary Fifield, earning first-team All-LEC honors as a sophomore. The point guard, a two-time captain, helped USM to three LEC titles and three NCAA Sweet 16 appearances and was named national Comeback Player-of-the-Year in 1997 after returning from two serious knee injuries. As an ECAC All-New England repeater, the fifth-year senior propelled the Huskies to the 1998 national championship game. She was inducted into the Husky Hall of Fame in 2008.