MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – The Middlebury women's basketball team (12-7, 1-) fell 65-54 to visiting Trinity (15-4, 4-1) on Friday evening in Pepin Gymnasium. The Panthers are back in action on Saturday when they entertain Connecticut College at 3:00 p.m.

Middlebury jumped out to an 8-2 lead at the 4:07 mark, sparked by a two and a three from Reagan McDonald. Trinity cut the deficit to one (8-7) on a layup from Elizabeth Althoff with 48 seconds remaining in the first quarter, but a layup by Kira Waldman extended the Panther advantage to 10-7 heading into the second stanza.

The Bantams went on a 10-0 run over the first 4:33 of the second quarter, capped by a three pointer from Devan Walsh to make it 17-10. Trailing 21-15, Middlebury's Betsy Knox converted a three-point play, bringing the Panthers within three (21-18) with 3:28 showing on the clock. Later, a free throw by Madison Stevens gave Trinity a 23-20 edge heading into the locker room.

Out of the break, Middlebury's Michaela Sullivan made a layup to cut the deficit to 23-22 at the 8:26 mark. The Bantams went on a 7-0 burst over the ensuing 2:56, increasing the advantage to 30-22. The Panthers responded with a 6-1 spurt, sparked by a shot from beyond the arc by Lily Kuntz, bringing them within three (31-28) with 4:30 showing on the clock. Later in the third, a pair of free throws from Knox knotted the game 37-37, but the Bantams scored the next six points to take a 43-37 lead heading into the final quarter.

The teams traded baskets early on, before a pair of charity tosses from Peace Kabari gave the visitors a 10-point advantage (56-46) with 4:24 to go. A three from McDonald cut the deficit to eight (60-52) with 1:55 remaining, but that was as close as Middlebury would get, as Trinity hung on for the 65-54 victory.

Davis recorded a game-high 14 points to go along with seven rebounds, while McDonald tallied 13 points. Knox grabbed a team-high 10 boards and chipped in with nine points.

Kabari led Trinity with 13 points, grabbed a game-high 12 boards and blocked three shots. Althoff had 12 points, seven rebounds and three blocks, while Naia Saddler recorded 12 points and grabbed seven boards.