The Middlebury women's basketball team led wire-to-wire to earn a 68-40 victory over Vermont State University Castleton on Tuesday afternoon. 

HIGHLIGHTS

• The Panthers came out firing to open the contest. A layup by Sarah Chenette capped seven-straight points to build a 7-0 advantage with 7:13 remaining in the first quarter.
• Middlebury extended its lead to nine (11-2) with buckets from Callie Messina and Brooke Collins before a three from Castleton's Maggie McKearin cut the deficit to six at the 2:50 mark.
• The guests kept their foot on the gas pedal, closing the opening stanza on a 6-1 run for a 17-6 lead. Chenette led the charge with four points during the span.
• Castleton netted the first bucket of the second with a three from McKearin to trim the deficit to eight (17-9). 
• Gabby Stuart answered McKearin's three with consecutive layups for four of the next five to make it 23-10 at the 6:06 mark.
• The hosts started to find their footing. Arianna Coombs highlighted a 13-7 run over the rest of the half with four points to trim Middlebury's lead to 30-23 heading into halftime.
• Castleton continued to cut into the deficit to begin the third. A quick 5-2 spurt, highlighted by a three-point play from Coombs, made it 32-28 at the 7:28 mark.
• Middlebury regained the momentum, scoring 23 consecutive points to rebuild its lead to 27 (55-28) with 1:37 left. Six different Panthers tallied a bucket in the run, including 11 from Teagan Lind.
• The Panthers stayed on cruise control in the final stanza, outscoring the hosts 12-8 to earn the 68-40 triumph.

NOTES

• Lind tallied 18 points and set a career-high with nine rebounds in the triumph.
• Messina was the other Panther in double figures with 12, while Margot Newman had a team-best three steals.
• Middlebury possessed a 38-22 advantage in points in the paint and held the Spartans to a season-low 28.3 field-goal percentage.
• The programs met for the 36th time with the Panthers claiming their 26th triumph in the series.

Middlebury returns to Pepin Gymnasium for a three-game slate beginning on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. against Oswego State.