Middlebury needed overtime to beat visiting Skidmore 66-63 in Pepin Gym on Saturday. Trailing by 15 points at the half, Middlebury clamped down on the Thoroughbreds in the second stanza, forcing the overtime session. The Panthers (6-2) return to action in 25 days with a New Year's Eve road game at MCLA, while Skidmore (1-4) hosts Green Mountain on Wednesday.

Skidmore opened the first half with excellent three-point accuracy with back-to-back threes for a 6-0 lead. With a 12-10 advantage at 11:56, the Thoroughbreds outscored Middlebury 14-2 over the next seven minutes of play building a 28-12 lead, highlighted by a pair of three-pointers from Molly McLaughlin that started the run. The Panthers countered with an 8-0 burst, as Rachel Crews swished a pair of threes of her own, setting the score at 28-20 with 4:07 left in the half.

Skidmore answered with a 7-0 run to close out the first, as Ella Scheuerell capped the scoring with a three with just under 30 seconds to play, for a halftime score of 35-20, in favor of the visitors.

The Thoroughbreds held a double-digit lead through most of the opening eight minutes of the second half before the Panther shooters came alive. A three from Krystina Reynolds started the run, followed by a pair of buckets from Elizabeth Knox. Sabrina Weeks' lay-up capped the run at 42-42 with 8:39 on the clock. The Panthers could not get their first lead of the game until Knox sank a pair of free throws with 1:58 left, giving Middlebury a 51-49 lead.

The lead grew to four points for the hosts, but a traditional three-point-play by Kelly Donnelly made it a tenuous 53-52 lead with 37 seconds left. Skidmore then forced a turnover and Lindsey Davis sank a three-pointer from the wing, giving the visitors a 55-53 lead with 25 ticks on the clock. After a Panther miss and Skidmore rebound, the Thoroughbreds had a chance to expand their lead, but missed the front end of a one-and-one as Middlebury got the rebound. After a 30 second Panther timeout with four seconds left in regulation, Sarah Kaufman made a swooping lefty drive to the hoop and sank the game-tying basket at the buzzer, forcing overtime.

In the extra period, Skidmore again jumped out to a quick lead on a pair of buckets. The Panthers battled back and regained the lead when Knox once again sank a pair from the free throw line for a 60-59 lead at 1:39. Knox followed with a basket for a 62-59 lead and gave the hosts a bit of breathing room on a lay-up with 21 seconds left, and a 65-61 advantage.

Skidmore missed its next two shots from the floor as Angela Botiba corralled a rebound for a put-back with :08 left to play. Trailing by two, Skidmore fouled Weeks who netted one of two from the line for a 66-63 lead. A game-tying three from Skidmore was off-line at the buzzer as Middlebury held on for the OT victory.

Coolidge led all scorers with 15 points on 7-16 shooting, while Knox added 14 and grabbed a game-best 14 rebounds. Crews connected on 3-4 from long distance for 11 points, while collecting nine boards.

Donnelly paced the Thoroughbreds with 14 points and a game-best 14 rebounds, while Botiba netted 13 and hauled in 13 caroms. Amber Holgate came off the bench to score a dozen, while Davis dropped in 11 points and Scheuerell grabbed 10 rebounds.