The Middlebury women's basketball team erased a double-digit deficit in the opening half, but Williams used a big third quarter to defeat the Panthers 66-49 in a NESCAC match-up on Sunday. The Ephs outscored Middlebury 19-6 in the third to take the lead for good, after trailing by a point at the half. The Panthers (10-6, 2-3) are back in action on Wednesday as they host Castleton at 7:00 p.m.

Williams (13-4, 3-3) got off to a fast start scoring the game's first 10 points, as Lauren McCall accounted for six of the points in that run with a pair of three pointers. Middlebury broke that run with a trey by Sabrina Weeks and two free throws by Colleen Caveney to make it an 11-5 game. Sarah Kaufman came on strong in the final 2:12 of the opening quarter for the Panthers, scoring the team's final seven points. Her two free throws with no time on the clock pulled Middlebury to within 15-12.      

The Panthers took their first lead (19-17) of the contest 3:41 into the second quarter, as Kaufman hit from behind the three-point arc. That advantage grew to 24-19 on a bucket from in the paint by Catherine Harrison, but back-to-back three pointers put Williams back in front by a point. The teams exchanged leads in the final minutes of the quarter, with Middlebury taking a 31-30 lead into the break. Harrison scored the go-ahead bucket with 1:03 remaining before the half.

Williams regained the lead at the start of the third quarter with a 6-0 run, but the Panthers ended that stretch with a bucket from Eileen Daley with 5:55 showing on the clock. The Ephs countered with a 13-4 run over the span of 5:31, before Kaufman hit a field goal for Middlebury in the closing seconds. The hosts led 49-37 with one quarter left to play.

In the final quarter, Williams maintained its double-figure advantage and led by as many as 24 (66-42), as the hosts outscored the Panthers 17-12 in the final frame.

Kaufman led Middlebury with 14 points and Rachel Collins also scored in double figures with 10. Harrison just missed a double-double with eight points and 11 rebounds, while Alex Huffman had a steady game with eight rebounds, five assists and four points.

For Williams, Amanni Fernandez led all scorers with 20 points and McCall had 19.

The Ephs made 47.3 percent (26-55) of their attempts from the floor, while the Panthers hit 32.7 (18-55).