FITCHBURG, Mass. – The Castleton University women's basketball team put on a clinic on both ends of the floor on Wednesday night, flying past Fitchburg State 78-33 in non-conference action.
 
Castleton (6-3) shot an impressive 46.9 percent from the floor, making a season-high 30 field goals on the night. The Spartans also connected on 8-of-21 from three, tying a season-high for most threes in a game. The defense held Fitchburg State to just 11-of-48 (22.9 percent) shooting overall and 2-of-18 (11.1 percent) from beyond the arc. The Spartans also had a 42-36 edge in rebounds and turned it over only 15 times to Fitchburg State's 29. Castleton had 13 steals and outscored the Falcons 18-7 off turnovers.
 
Elise Magro compiled a game-high 21 points on a career-best 83.3% (10-of-12) shooting. She also had four assists and six steals in just 23 minutes. Liz Bailey followed with 14 points and five rebounds while Kelly Vuz added 12 points, four rebounds and three assists. Luna Perry-St. Peter had eight points off the bench while Kathryn Moore added six. Emily Adams had a team-high eight rebounds and six assists on the night.
 
No Falcon players reached double figures scoring, with Ephemian Bailey leading the team at nine points. Rylie Harlow added six and Morgan Genness had five. Stephanie Hart grabbed seven rebounds for Fitchburg State.
 
Castleton scored the first nine points of the game, starting with a three from Vuz before Bailey hit a layup and Magro made back-to-back buckets. Fitchburg State hit a lone free throw to break up the streak, but Castleton scored the next seven points to lead 16-1 near the end of the first quarter. Hart made a jumper for the Falcons before Bailey answered with a layup for Castleton for an 18-3 lead. A late three by Fitchburg State made it 18-6 through 10 minutes.
 
The Spartans continued to pile on in the second quarter, scoring the first six points of the frame thanks to four straight points from Moore before Bailey added a bucket. The lead continued to grow throughout the frame, hitting 20 points when Vuz and Magro made consecutive layups for a 28-8 edge. Vuz ended the half with a last-second three to send the Spartans into the break ahead 38-16.
 
An 8-0 run in the third quarter extended Castleton's lead to 49-23, and Castleton closed the quarter with 10 unanswered points to sit comfortably on top with the final frame on the horizon, 62-27.
 
Castleton added eight straight points—the last four of which came from Bailey—to extend the score to 72-29 with nearly six minutes remaining. The Falcons scored four unanswered to make it 72-33, but Maggie McKearin and Adams each hit a three in the final minutes to push the margin of victory to 45 points, 78-33.
 
Castleton hits the road once more on Saturday when it goes to Southern Maine for a Little East Conference battle at 1 p.m.