Barre, VT - Northern Vermont University-Lyndon led unbeaten Castleton University through three quarters of Friday evening's women's basketball game.  The Spartans were able to overtake the Hornets in the fourth quarter, however, and came away with a 56-50 victory on the first day of the annual Barre Granite Association College Classic at the Barre Auditorium.  Castleton improved to 4-0 with the win, while Lyndon fell to 1-3.

After Castleton's Gwyn Tatton scored the game's first basket, Lyndon grabbed the lead on Marisa Schlegel (Nampa, ID) connected on a three-pointer to ignite a 15-2 Hornet run.  When Emori Davis (Fairfield, TX) connected from behind the arc, the Hornets found themselves with a 15-5 lead just over six minutes into the contest.  After Castleton cut the Lyndon lead in half, Schlegel knocked down another three ball to make it 18-10, Hornets after one quarter.

Castleton's Kelly Vuz opened the scoring in the second quarter with four straight free throws to cut the Lyndon lead to four.  The two teams battled back and forth, with Castleton getting to within a single point with 56 seconds remaining in the half.  The Hornets responded with a Davis jumper and a three-pointer from Gabriella Cordova (El Paso, TX) just before the halftime buzzer, sending Lyndon into intermission with a 29-23 lead.

As the third quarter began, Castleton started to chip away at the Lyndon lead.  When Tatton scored, was fouled, and converted the free throw, the Spartans took their first lead since the opening minute.  After Kiara Mack (Winooski, VT) scored inside to put the Hornets back in front, Vuz connected from behind the arc and Elise Magro made a pair of free throws, giving Castleton a four-point lead.  Kadienne Whitcomb (West Burke, VT) connected from three and Davis followed with a jumper to put the Hornets back in front.  After Magro scored off of a Hornet turnover, Davis connected again just before the buzzer to give Lyndon a 40-39 lead heading into the final quarter.

Vuz scored on Castleton's first posession of the final quarter to put the Spartans in front, but Lyndon's Kerigan Disorda (Benson, VT) answered with a three-pointer for Lyndon.  A Vuz three at the 9:05 mark gave Castleton a 44-43 lead that the Spartans would never relinquish.  The Hornets got the ball back trailing by three with just over two minutes remaining, but they came up empty and Castleton was able to put the game away at the free throw line.

Vuz led Castleton with a game high 29 points and added six rebounds.  Magro also reached double figures with 12 points.  Davis was the only Hornet in double figures as she finished with 13 points and eight rebounds.  Saleena Porter (St. Johnsbury, VT) pulled down a game high 10 rebounds.

Both teams struggled from the floor, as Castleton only made 18 of 59 shots (30.5%) and Lyndon made 21 of 55 (38.5%).  The Spartans had a huge advantage at the free throw line, converting 17 of 22 free throws to only one of two for Lyndon.  The Spartans also scored 21 points off of 28 Lyndon turnovers while the Hornets only forced 13 Castleton Turnovers yielding only four points.

The Hornets will square off against Norwich University on Saturday at 4:00 pm on day two of the Barre Granite Association College Classic.