Lyndonville, Vt. – The Spartans defense clamped down in the second half on the way to a 78-44 victory over Lyndon St. on Saturday afternoon in North Atlantic Conference action. 

Castleton shot 46.0 percent from the field and recorded 15 steals while forcing 24 turnovers to improve to 15-1 on the season and 8-1 in the NAC. The Hornets shot 34.1 percent from the field and dropped to 5-10 overall and 3-7 in conference action. 

Alyssa Leonard led a balanced attack with 18 points, six rebounds and three steals while Shelby LaBarge added 12 points and three rebounds off the bench. Kelly Conway dished out six assists in the victory, and Meghan O'Sullivan also reach double figures with 13 points. 

Donna Lawson had 13 points, five rebounds, one blocked shot and one steal to lead Lyndon while Aimee Thompson chipped in 10 points and five rebounds. Emily Slayton had a team-high two assists for the Hornets.  

Castleton jumped out to a 10-0 lead over the first three minutes of action. Thompson broke the Lyndon St. dry spell, but the Spartans added six more to take a 16-2 lead with 12:36 left in the first half. Back-to-back buckets by Lawson made it a 10-point game, though a 6-2 run pushed the Castleton lead to 22-8 with 10:12 remaining. 

The two teams traded baskets over the next five minutes, with a pair of Lawson free throws closing the Spartan advantage to 33-20. LaBarge hit a jumper and Tarryn Bolognani made a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 37-20 with 4:29 left in the half. Castleton outscored the Hornets 12-8 over the final four minutes to take a 49-28 lead at the break. 

In the second half the teams traded baskets over the first three minutes. Leonard scored at 16:00 to extend the Spartan advantage to 56-33 and Castleton's lead wouldn't drop below 20 the rest of the contest. Leading 65-42 with 9:02 left the Spartans held Lyndon St. without a point over the next 8:27 while going on a 9-0 run, and finished the game with the 38-point victory. 

Castleton returns to action on Tuesday at 5:30 pm when the Spartans host Green Mountain in Glenbrook Gym.