CASTLETON, Vt. – The top-seeded Spartans outscored No. 8 Thomas by 38 points in the opening 20 minutes as they cruised to a 75-25 victory in the North Atlantic Conference Quarterfinals at Glenbrook Gym on Tuesday evening.
Castleton shot 39.0 percent from the floor, held the Terriers to just 16.2 percent shooting and forced 23 turnovers as the team improved to 23-3 on the year. Thomas was outrebounded 51-34 and gave up 22 offensive rebounds while falling to 4-22 overall.
Four different players reached double figures for the Spartans as no one played more than 23 minutes. Shelby LaBarge posted a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds while Lindsay Saboadded a career-high 13 points along with two rebounds and two assists. Stephanie Bull led all scorers with 14 points while Heather Murdough chipped in with nine rebounds, five steals and three points.
Elizabeth Goodall led Thomas with eight points, but shot just 1-for-13 from the field. Ashleigh Gagne added two points, two assists and seven rebounds while Morgan Hutchins had four points and four rebounds.
Alyssa Leonard gave the Spartans a 5-3 lead just 2:49 into the game and they scored the next ten points as well to open up at 15-3 advantage with 12:08 left in the half. Castleton extended its lead to 20, 25-5 at 8:35, and another 10-0 spurt made it 35-5 with 5:20 left. The Spartans outscored the Terriers 10-2 over the final five minutes of the first for a 45-7 lead at the break.
Castleton extended its lead to 45, 54-9, less than four minutes into the second half on layup by Murdough. Thomas came back with a 9-2 run to pull within 39, but the Spartans scored the next 11 points to push their advantage to 67-17 on a three from Bull with 7:30 remaining. Castleton's lead climbed as high as 53 in the final six minutes before the Spartans finished with the 50-point win.
Castleton now advances to the NAC Semifinals. The Spartans will host No. 4 seed Husson on Friday at 6 pm.