Middlebury opened up NESCAC action with a 65-56 win over Bates at Pepin Gym.  Elizabeth Knox (21), Alexis Coolidge (16), and Sarah Kaufman (14) accounted for 79 percent of the Panthers' scoring in the game. Middlebury (8-4, 1-0) returns to conference play on Sunday, hosting Tufts at 3:00 p.m., while Bates (9-5, 0-1) entertains Trinity on Friday.

After a jumper from Siobhan O'Sullivan at 15:51 gave Middlebury a 9-2 lead, the Bobcats rattled off four three-pointers, countered by a pair of Panther lay-ups, giving the visitors a 15-13 lead with 3:16 left in the first half. Bates' Chelsea Nason knocked the first of the long-balls down from the right wing and was fouled on the play. After Nason converted the rare four-point play, she nailed another three-pointer, tying the game at 9-9. Teammate Molly Brown followed with two threes that bookended a Knox lay-up for the 15-13 lead.

Over the next nine minutes of play the Bobcats went ice-cold, hitting just 1-16 from the floor as Middlebury went on an 18-2 run. Coolidge netted six points and Kaufman added five, including a three-pointer off a Coolidge assist. Trailing 31-17, the Bobcats hit a jumper at 4:16 before Kaufman gave the Panthers their largest lead of the game (34-19) sinking a three-pointer at 3:18.

Bates found its shooting touch to close out the half, going on a 9-0 run, highlighted by five points from Kristin Calvo, cutting the deficit to 34-27 with just over a minute to play. Coolidge and Brown exchanged baskets in the final minute of action, setting the halftime score at 36-29.

Bates opened the second half on an Allie Coppola lay-up, narrowing the Panther lead to 36-31. The Panthers bumped their advantage to 47-37 at the 10:52 mark on a trey from Knox. Brown answered with a three of her own before Kaufman and Knox hit back-to-back buckets for a 51-40 lead at 8:46.

Middlebury's lead hovered around double-digits for the remainder of the game. In the final minute, the Bobcats sent the Panthers to the charity stripe where Middlebury hit 4-5 to maintain its lead, settling for a 65-56 NESCAC victory.

Knox led all scorers with 21 points on 9-17 shooting, including 3-4 from behind the arc. Coolidge's 16 came on 6-12 from the floor, while Kaufman grabbed a career-best 14 rebounds to go with her 14 points. O'Sullivan added four assists and three steals to her six points and 11 rebounds.

Bates was paced by Brown's 19 points, highlighted by four three-pointers and seven rebounds. Coppola had a double-double with 16 points and 16 rebounds, including six on the offensive glass. Nason finished with seven points and a game-best four blocks.