CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton University women's basketball team picked up its fourth consecutive win Saturday afternoon, cruising to victory over Western Connecticut State University 73-56 in a Little East Conference matchup at Glenbrook Gym.

The Spartans improve to 10-6 overall and 5-2 in conference play, while WestConn drops to 6-10 overall and 1-6 against LEC competition. Castleton built a large lead early and led a majority of the contest, shooting a season-high 56.9 percent (29-of-51) from the field while making 36.4 percent (4-of-11) from three. The Colonials shot just 27.9 percent (17-of-61) overall and 17.2 percent (5-of-29) from three. WestConn knocked down 17-of-29 at the free throw line, with Castleton making 11-of-14 free throws on the day. The Spartans dominated the glass, out-rebounding WestConn 43-30, but Castleton turned the ball over 32 times to the Colonials 23. Both teams scored more than 30 points off opponent turnovers. The Spartans took advantage of numbers in the press-break, outscoring WestConn 25-6 on the fast break and 42-16 in the paint.

Katlyn Toomey had a game-high and career-high 19 points, making 9-of-11 from the floor, while hauling in 10 rebounds for her third career double-double. Brooke Raiche and Emilee Bose had 13 points apiece for Castleton, Bose reaching the mark in just 21 minutes of action. Raiche added seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and three blocks in a well-rounded performance. Elise Magro scored 11 points with seven assists, marking the second consecutive game the rookie has dished out seven helpers. She also had four steals in the win. Kylie Wright added nine points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals off the bench, with Alexis Quenneville accounting for six points on a pair of threes.

WestConn was led by 19 points from Genesis Torres, who finished the day just 5-of-14 from the field but was 7-of-8 at the free throw line. Torres also had three steals on the afternoon. Joining her in double-digits was Susana Almeida, who had 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting. Gabrielle Hurlbert and Lola Herman had five rebounds apiece to lead the team.

The Spartans got off to a slow start, falling behind 4-0 before getting on the board 2:29 into the contest on a jumper from Raiche. The bucket started an offensive barrage for Castleton, as the Spartans closed out the first quarter on a 20-2 run, leading 20-6. Raiche had seven points in the quarter while Magro had three helpers in the opening 10 minutes.

The powerful play of the Spartans continued in the second quarter, as Castleton continually broke the WestConn press, outscoring the Colonials 11-2 in fast break points in the opening half. Castleton opened the second frame on an 8-0 run, the first six points of the run coming from Bose. After a WestConn three, Castleton again went on an 8-0 run, capped by a triple from Quenneville to make it 36-9 with just under two minutes to play in the half. The Colonials scored the final three points of the stanza as Castleton went into the locker room leading 36-12.

Castleton continued to build on its lead in the third quarter, as an 8-1 run that ended with a layup by Wright gave the Spartans their largest lead of the day, 49-17. The Colonials closed out the third quarter strong, closing the frame on a 16-5 run to cut the gap to 19 heading to the final 10 minutes.

The Spartans built the lead up once more, as Wright converted a three-point play to close out a 9-0 Castleton run and put the Spartans ahead, 71-45. The Colonials answered by holding Castleton scoreless for more than three minutes while slashing the lead to 71-56. Magro hit a late jumper for Castleton to stop the bleeding, giving the game its final score of 73-56.

Castleton returns to action Wednesday at Eastern Connecticut State University. Tip-off is slated for 5:30 p.m.