DANBURY, Conn. – The Vermont State University Castleton women's basketball team never trailed on Saturday, cruising to a 65-53 victory over Western Connecticut State University in road Little East Conference action.
 
Elise Magro had a monster day, racking up 29 points, seven assists, five rebounds and three steals. Liz Bailey added 13 points and 13 rebounds for a double-double and Stasia Epler had nine points and five boards.
 
The Spartans (9-10, 3-7 LEC) shot 40.3 percent as a team from the field and 41.2 percent from three-point range. WestConn (6-14, 2-9 LEC) shot just 31.9 percent from the field and 18.2 percent from three. The Wolves won the rebounding battle 48-39, but turned 15 offensive rebounds into only 12 points.
 
Nicole Peralta had a team-high 14 points for WestConn, with Alyssa Virtue grabbing 14 rebounds. Gabrielle Franks and Malaysia Dingle also reached double figures in scoring.
 
Magro kicked off her big day by knocking down a three as the two sides played back-and-forth basketball over the opening four minutes. Locked up at 7-7, Magro hit another three before Epler buried a jumper and Magro followed suit once more to race ahead 14-7. WestConn tried to chip away at the lead, but Castleton remained on top 20-14 after a quarter.
 
After the Wolves drew within a possession early in the second, the Spartan offense came to live with a 16-3 run over the final five minutes of the second quarter. Bailey hit a pair of free throws and Kathryn Moore knocked down a three to push the lead to 26-18. After a WestConn triple, Magro hit a jumper and a three on back-to-back Spartan possessions. Epler finished the half with a three and a layup to send VTSU Castleton into the locker room leading 37-21.
 
Magro scored the first seven points of the second half for the Spartans, but WestConn worked to minimize Castleton's lead over that timeframe, working back to a 10-point deficit at 44-34 before Epler dropped in a layup. The Wolves posted five unanswered points out of the media timeout to make it 46-39 in favor of the Spartans, but Moore stopped the bleeding with a jumper at the three-minute mark of the third. The Wolves whittled the Spartans' edge back to five, 48-43, heading into the final 10 minutes.
 
Magro opened the fourth with a jumper and Maggie McKearin knocked down a three to get the Spartans back to a double-digit advantage. After a basket by the Wolves, Bailey made a layup and McKearin hit 1-of-2 at the line for a 56-45 lead with 6:30 to go. A five-point Spartan burst after a WestConn layup pushed the edge to 61-47, giving sufficient cushion for the remaining time. Arianna Coombs and Bailey added buckets late to give the game its 65-53 final.
 
The Spartans return to action on Wednesday night at Keene State at 5:30 p.m.