Trailing 38-33 late in the second half, Middlebury went on a 9-0 run and held off Bates for a 42-41 victory at Pepin Gym on Saturday. This was the final regular season home game for the Panthers who improve to 12-10 overall and 3-4 in NESCAC play, while the Bobcats fall to 13-9 and 3-4 in conference action.
Alana Wall's lay-up gave the Panthers a 10-8 lead with 10:34 left in the first half, erasing an early 4-0 deficit. Middlebury extended their lead to 17-12 on a three by Katie Fisher at the 5:32 mark. A pair of Val Beckwith buckets cut the Panther advantage to one, before a final 6-2 Panther spurt ended the first half scoring at 23-18.
The Bobcats rallied in the second half going on a 15-4 run, highlighted by four points apiece from Meg Coffin and Matia Kostaki to take a 33-27 lead with 11:25 left in the game. Trailing 38-33 at the 5:26 mark, the Panthers' Ashley Barron collected five of her game-high 10 points sparking their decisive 9-0 burst, for a 42-38 lead with 1:30 remaining.
Bates would close it to one on a three-pointer by Sarah Barton on their next possession. The Bobcats had two attempts to take the lead in the final seconds, including a lay-up with :03 on the clock, but neither shot fell as the Panthers ran out the clock for the 42-41 victory.
Barron's 10 points led all scorers, while Katie Fisher netted seven for Middlebury. Kostaki scored eight points, including her 1,000th career point for the Bobcats, while Coffin grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds to go with her six points. The Panthers held Bates to 14 percent shooting from behind the arc and 29 percent shooting from the floor.
