CASTLETON, Vt. – Castleton used a high-pressure defense to force 28 turnovers and outscored Thomas by 20 points in the second half on the way to a 69-35 victory on Saturday afternoon at Glenbrook Gym.

The Spartans held the Terriers to just 25.5 percent shooting for the contest and 4-for-14 from beyond the arc to improve to 6-0 on the season and 2-0 in the North Atlantic Conference. The 6-0 start is the best in program history. Thomas, meanwhile, drops to 2-2 overall and 1-2 in conference play.

It was a balanced offense for Castleton as 12 different players scored, led by Alyssa Leonard with 11 points. Meghan O'Sullivan was dominant inside with eight points and nine rebounds in only 19 minutes of action and Stephanie Bull led all bench scorers with eight points and three rebounds.

Thomas' Megan Pelletier was held to just ten points on 4-for-16 shooting, but she did add four blocks, four rebounds and three assists. Elizabeth Goodall was second on the team with six points and three rebounds and Jasmine Bishop grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

The Spartans opened the game with an 11-5 run, capped off with a pair of free throws by Sullivan at the 13:47 mark. Thomas responded with four straight to cut the lead to 11-9; however, Castleton came back with seven consecutive points, punctuated by a Bull triple to take an 18-9 lead with 9:37 left.

Bishop ended the run with a layup and the Terriers climbed back within eight, 24-16, at the 3:46 mark. Liz Douglass hit a three to make it an 11-point margin and the Spartans outscored Thomas 5-2 over the final minutes to go into the break with a 32-18 lead.

Thomas scored four of the first six points of the half to close the Castleton advantage to 34-22; however, a 9-2 run by the Spartans made it a 20-point game, 43-23, with 15:31 remaining in the contest. The Terriers could get any closer than 15 and the Spartans used a stifling defense to hold Thomas without a point for nearly nine minutes on their way to the 34-point victory.

Castleton out-rebounded Thomas 53-36, pulling down 19 offensive rebounds, including four from Douglass, who finished the game with seven rebounds and seven points. Ali Jones also chipped in with a pair of threes in the final minutes for a career-high six points.

The Spartans return to action on Friday, Dec. 7, when they travel to face Husson at 5:30 pm.