BARRE, Vt. – The Castleton University women's basketball team coasted to victory Saturday afternoon, defeating Northern Vermont University-Johnson by a final score of 75-37 in the Granite City Shootout at the Barre Auditorium.

Castleton improves to 5-0 on the season, remaining unbeaten through the first five games of the season for the fifth time under head coach Tim Barrett. Johnson falls to 0-6 with the loss. The Spartans shot a season-high 47.5 percent (28-of-59) as a team despite struggling from three-point land on the afternoon. Castleton made just two threes (2-of-16), though NVU-Johnson also struggled from deep—making just 3-of-24. The Spartan defense held the Badgers to a 22.0 percent (13-of-59) mark from the field and racked up six steals and five blocks. The Spartans won the rebounding battle, 43-33, and dominated the paint, outscoring the Badgers 36-18 inside. Castleton struggled at the free-throw line, shooting just 54.8 percent, though its 31 attempts were its most in a single game since January of 2018.

Elise Magro led all players with 14 points in just 21 minutes of play, shooting 6-of-11 from the field while grabbing four rebounds and dishing out three assists with a pair of steals. Brooke Raiche added 11 points for Castleton, going 5-of-9 shooting on the afternoon. Emilee Bose reached the 10-point plateau for the fourth consecutive game, dropping 10 points with four rebounds. Katlyn Toomey led the team with six rebounds, while Leanna Mason added five boards off the bench. Jillian Laughlin and Kylie Wright each had eight points in reserve action, and Delaney Whitehead added five.

The Badgers were led by eight points off the bench from Alexandra Barry and seven points from Kiana Johnson. Barry was 3-of-6 shooting with five rebounds. Lindsey LaPerle notched six points and seven rebounds, and Klaire Ware had seven rebounds of her own for Johnson.

The Spartans jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, using an 11-2 run that spanned the final five minutes of the first quarter to take a 17-6 lead into the second period. Castleton tacked 11 more points onto its lead in the second quarter, outscoring the Badgers 21-10 behind an early 10-3 run, followed by a 7-0 run just minutes later. Raiche sent Castleton to the locker room leading 38-16 following a last-second layup at the end of the quarter.

Castleton had another 7-0 run in the third quarter, jump-started by a three from Magro and capped by layups from Raiche and Laughlin. Following a brief run by the Badgers, the Spartans added to their lead again, ending the quarter on an 8-0 run that spanned the final three minutes of the third.

The final frame was more of the same, as Castleton scored the first six points of the quarter to take a 65-26 lead just three minutes in. The lead reached 40 points at the midway mark of the final quarter when Laughlin nailed a three to make it 70-30. The rookie added a pair of free throws later in the quarter, and Lauren Pratt capped the Spartans' scoring with a late jumper. Johnson netted the last basket of the game, giving the contest its final score of 75-37.

Castleton returns to action Tuesday against Middlebury, which finished the 2018-19 season as the No. 4 team in the Northeast Region. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. at Middlebury's Pepin Gymnasium.