A running floater in the middle of the lane by Claremont-Mudd-Scripps' Corinne Bogle with one second left lifted the Athenas to a 54-53 over Middlebury on Friday in California. The Panthers (8-2) return to the action on Saturday when they play at Pomona-Pitzer beginning at 8:00 p.m. Friday's game was Middlebury's first contest after 21 days off for the semester break.

Following a layup by Catherine Harrison on Middlebury's opening possession, the Athenas tallied the next nine points of the opening quarter, capped off by an old-fashioned three-point play from Kailee Severt with 6:13 remaining. The Panthers scored four-straight points on baskets from Betsy Knox and Sarah Kaufman, but CMS (8-2) closed the quarter with eight of the final 12 points for a 17-10 lead.

Middlebury started the second quarter with a 10-4 run, finished by a pair of free throws from Kaufman, slicing the CMS lead to one (21-20) with 7:27 on the clock. A pair of charity tosses by Bogle and a jumper from Maya Love pushed the CMS lead back to five (25-20), but the Panthers reeled off an 11-0 run spanning 3:16 of play for a 31-25 edge with 3:23 left before the half. Maya Davis had six points for Middlebury during the run. The Athenas tallied four of the last five points of the quarter, as Middlebury possessed a 32-29 lead at the break.

Trailing by two at 38-36 with 5:03 remaining in the third quarter, Middlebury rattled off seven-straight points, highlighted by a three from Kaufman at the 2:38 mark. The Panthers capped off the quarter with two free throws by Kira Waldman, taking a 45-39 lead into the final stanza.

The Athenas scored the six of first eight points in the fourth quarter, cutting the Panther edge to two (47-45) on a free throw by Kate Parrish with 4:12 left. CMS regained the lead just over a minute later on a three from Severt. Following two free throws and a layup from Love that gave the hosts a 52-47 lead with 1:38 remaining, a three from Kaufman with 1:30 on the clock brought the Panthers to within two.

A layup from Alex Huffman with 23 seconds tied the score, and a free throw by Harrison with 5.6 seconds remaining gave Middlebury a 53-52 edge. Running the ball up the floor, Bogle drove toward the middle, lofting a shot that crawled over the front of the rim for the game-winning basket. The Panthers had one final chance, but couldn't get a clean shot off.

Kaufman led the Panthers with a season-best 16 points, while Davis had a near double-double of 14 points and a team-best nine rebounds. Knox scored eight points and pulled down eight rebounds, while Huffman had a team-high three steals.

Bogle paced all players with 19 points and four steals, while Love had a double-double of 12 points and 13 rebounds. Severt was the third Athena in double figures with 12 points.