CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton University women's basketball team picked up its third win in a row on Wednesday night, topping Plymouth State 63-46 in Little East Conference action at Glenbrook Gym.
 
Castleton (14-6, 7-4 LEC) shot 42.6 percent from the floor, hitting 26-of-61 on the night. Castleton added three three-pointers and made 8-of-16 free throws. Plymouth (5-14, 0-12 LEC) hit 32.7 percent from the field (17-of-52) but made eight threes and was 4-for-4 on free throws. Castleton had a 41-33 edge in rebounds leading to an 11-0 advantage in second-chance scoring. 21 Panther turnovers led to 22 Spartan points on the night.
 
Liz Bailey led Castleton in scoring for the second game in a row, dropping 20 points with eight rebounds. Bailey hit 9-of-16 from the floor. Elise Magro added 16 points, five assists, five steals and four rebounds in a well-rounded performance, while Kelly Vuz chipped in 11 points, four rebounds and four assists. Gwyn Tatton was active on the glass, grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds while adding seven points. Delaney Whitehead had seven points of her own on 3-of-3 shooting with six rebounds.
 
Sophie George led all players in the game with 23 points while Jalen Cook added 13 for the Panthers. Alli Ingalls grabbed a team-high nine rebounds and tied George with a team-best three assists.
 
Castleton scored quickly in the contest with a driving layup by Vuz before a three by Plymouth gave the Panthers a lead on the opposite end. A 6-0 run put Castleton ahead 8-3 and after a jumper by Cook for Plymouth State, Castleton added four more points for a 12-5 lead four minutes into the contest. The lead held at five after one quarter, 16-11.
 
Plymouth tied the game in the early portion of the second quarter with a jumper and a three, but Vuz answered the call with a three for Castleton. After the Panthers leveled the score once more with another three by George, Bailey dropped in back-to-back buckets for Castleton to push the lead to 23-19. A jumper by Cook made it 23-21, but Castleton closed the half on a 14-0 run that saw Plymouth State go scoreless for nearly six minutes. The Spartans led 37-21 at the half.
 
After the halftime break, Castleton continued to add to its healthy lead. The Spartans scored the first eight points out of the locker room to go ahead 45-21, capping the total run at 22 unanswered points and nine minutes of scoreless action from Plymouth State. The Panthers scored four points in a row on free throws to make it 45-25, but Castleton continued to apply pressure and ran the lead to 55-29 late in the third. The Panthers buckled down, with George hitting consecutive threes and a layup in the final three minutes of the frame to narrow the gap slightly heading into the final 10 minutes.
 
The Panthers continued to chip away at Castleton's lead in the fourth, scoring the first nine points of the frame to push the run to 17-0 over a seven-plus-minute stretch. The streak cut the Castleton lead to single digits, 55-46, before the Spartans took over once more. Plymouth State was held scoreless over the final 4:54 as Castleton closed the game on an 8-0 run to secure the 63-46 win.
 
The Spartans are back in action on Saturday at Eastern Connecticut State at 1 p.m.