The Middlebury women's basketball team pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 69-52 victory over host Pomona-Pitzer (2-9) on Saturday in the Rains Center. The Panthers (9-2) have nearly a week off from action before opening NESCAC play when they host Connecticut College on Friday at 7:00 p.m.

Tied at 3-3 early in the opening quarter, the Panthers rattled off a 13-3 run over a span of 4:16 for a 16-6 lead. Middlebury knocked down 7-10 of its shots during the spurt, including a three-point field goal from Colleen Caveney to cap the run. Pomona-Pitzer closed the quarter with the final seven points of the stanza for a 16-13 Panther advantage after 10 minutes of play.

The visitors started the second quarter with an 11-2 run, finished by a three from Kira Waldman, for a 12-point lead (27-15) with 7:19 on the clock. The Sagehens chipped away at the deficit, coming within seven at 31-24 on a layup by Keilani Ikehara at the 2:53 mark. Middlebury posted the last four points of the quarter on layups from Caveney and Sabrina Weeks, taking an 11-point lead into the halftime break.

After Pomona-Pitzer scored the first two points on its initial possession of the third quarter, the Panthers reeled off a 15-4 run over the next 5:27 for a 50-30 lead with 4:24 on the clock. The Sagehens closed to within 14 (53-39) on an Ikehara free throw with four seconds left in the stanza.

Pomona-Pitzer continued that momentum in the early minutes of the fourth quarter, pulling to within seven at 53-46 via a three from Alexa Bayangos at the 7:52 mark. Maintaining a 59-50 advantage with 4:24 left, Middlebury put together a 10-2 run in just under three minutes and cruised to the 69-52 victory.

Betsy Knox led three Panthers in double figures with 16 points, while Caveney had 12 on 5-6 shooting with a pair of threes. Catherine Harrison finished with 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Waldman added nine points on a trio of threes, while Alex Huffman had a nice all-around game of five points, five rebounds to go along with game-high totals of five assists and four steals.

Bayangos paced three Sagehens in double figures with a game-best 17 points, including five threes, while Anita Romero added 15 points. Emma Godfrey was the third player in double figures with 12 points, while Ikehara had six points and four assists.

Middlebury possessed a 42-22 rebounding advantage, had 20 assists on 27 baskets and outscored the Sagehens 32-8 in the paint during the victory.