CASTLETON, Vt. – Plymouth State University used a 20-2 run midway through the second half to take a lead they would never relinquish en route to a 64-59 win over Castleton State College in non-conference women's basketball action Tuesday evening at Glenbrook Gymnasium.

With the win the Panthers improve to 3-1 overall, while Castleton falls to 1-2. Plymouth State head coach Lauren Lavigne earned career win number 200 in the process, improving to 200-176 through 14-plus seasons as a head coach, including two seasons at Endicott.

Leading 33-30 at the half, Plymouth State opened the half with five quick points from Colleen O'Hara (Otego, N.Y.) to grab the lead. After trading baskets on back-to-back possessions, Castleton went on a 13-0 run to take a 50-37 lead with 11:40 to go. Junior forward Vanessa Powers (Marshfield, Vt.) keyed the surge with eight points and freshman Stephanie Bull (Milton, Vt.) nailed a key three-pointer during the run.

A Sammie Walker (Manchester, N.H.) lay-up, and five-straight points by Kellie Walsh (Londonderry, N.H.) sliced the lead to four, and after a Castleton bucket O'Hara once again provided five-straight to tie the score at 52-52 with 8:43 remaining. Alicia Doucet (Manchester, N.H.) made one-of-two from the free throw line to give Plymouth State the lead, and the Panthers held on down the stretch.

Amanda Kania (Manchester, N.H.) led all scorers with 23 points, including 15 in the first half, on 9-for-19 shooting from the field and a 3-for-6 performance from beyond the three-point stripe. Doucet followed in the Panther scoring column with 14 points and nine rebounds, while all 10 of O'Hara's points came after the interval to go along with seven boards.

Powers led the Spartans with 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting, while Tarryn Bolognani (Whitingham, Vt.) added 13 points and five rebounds. Freshman Alyssa Leonard (Amherst, Mass.) tossed in nine points and took down a team-high 10 rebounds to go along with five assists.

Plymouth State shot 34.8% from the field (23-66) and 62.5% from the free throw line (10-16), while Castleton turned in a nearly identical 22-for-65, 12-for-17 performance. The Panthers however used the three-ball to their advantage, knocking in 8-of-23 from beyond the arch, while Castleton struggled to just 3-for-12.

Plymouth State will host Colby-Sawyer on November 30 at 6:00 p.m., while the Spartans are also at home on the 30th, hosting Middlebury at 5:30.