Lyndonville, Vt. – The Spartans outscored Lyndon St. by 25 points in the final 20 minutes on the way to a 63-37 victory on Thursday evening in North Atlantic Conference action. 

Castleton led just 23-22 at the break but locked down on defense and hit some shots in the second to improve to 10-1 on the year and 5-0 within conference play. The Hornets shot just 17.1 percent in the second half as they dropped to 0-9 overall and 0-5 in the NAC. The Spartans shot 40.7 percent overall and outrebounded Lyndon 47-42 while recording 15 steals. 

Alyssa Leonard led the offense once again with 18 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Shelby LaBarge recorded her first double-double of the season with 14 rebounds, 12 points, four blocks and three steals while Stephanie Bull was also in double figures with 13 points.

Emily Gray led Lyndon with eight points, but shot just 2-for-12 from the field. As a team the Hornets shot 21.9 percent from the floor and made just 1 of 16 shots from beyond the arc. Chelsea Bagley grabbed a team-high ten rebounds and added seven points. 

The Hornets jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the first 2:15, however, Castleton responded with six straight to pull in front 8-5 with 15 minutes left in the half. A 7-2 run pushed the Spartan lead to 15-9 and their lead went to 20-11 on a pair of free throws by Jade Desroches with 9:24. 

Lyndon came back with a pair of baskets to pull within five before Heather Murdough connected on two foul shots for the 22-15 lead with 7:52 left. The Hornets held Castleton to just one point the rest of the half and scored seven to go into the break down just one, 23-22. 

The Spartans opened the second half on a 9-2 run over the first four minutes to extend their lead to 32-24. Lyndon pulled back within three on a 5-0 run, but 15 straight points by Castleton put the visitors up 47-29 with 8:39 left. The Spartans continued to push the pace over the final eight minutes and came away with the 26-point victory. 

Castleton returns to action on Tuesday when the Spartans host Westfield St. at 6 pm.