The Middlebury women's basketball team scored a season-high in points, pulling away from visiting Eastern Nazarene 98-58 on Wednesday. The Panthers (4-2) continue their busy stretch of four games in five days, heading to the Williams Tournament to face Babson on Friday and Cabrini on Saturday. Next up for Lions (6-3) is a home contest with Maine – Fort Kent on Friday at 6:00 p.m.
In the opening quarter, the hosts started the scoring on a layup by
Claire Miller, but the Lions came back with a three-pointer from Delaney Walker for what turned out to be their only lead of the contest. Miller scored half of Middlebury's points during an 8-0 run, putting the Panthers in front 10-3 three minutes into the game. Eastern Nazarene made a push to knot the score at 12-12 with 4:34 on the clock on a shot by Te'Yalla Simpson, but Middlebury closed out the frame with a 9-2 burst for a 21-14 cushion.
The lead continued to grow in the second stanza, reaching double figures (27-16) for the first time when
Reagan McDonald set up
Alexa Mustafaj for a layup on a fast break with just over two minutes expired. Middlebury later led 45-24 on a jumper by
Emily Downer and took its biggest lead of the opening half right at the buzzer when
Gianna Palli swished a three-pointer from 30-feet out for a 52-30 lead at the break.
The Panthers maintained a 20-plus point advantage the entire third frame, with
Augusta Dixon converting on a fast break for a 78-44 lead with 1:11 showing on the clock. The hosts held a79-49 margin following three quarters.
In the final 10 minutes, Middlebury kept extending the lead. A 6-0 run capped on a layup by Mustafaj gave the hosts an 89-54 advantage with 5:20 remaining. A final bucket by Downer in the closing seconds gave the Panthers their biggest margin of the contest at 98-58.
Mustafaj set a career-high on points for the second time in as many nights, finishing with 30 points on 14-18 shooting. Palli had a balanced performance with 14 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, while Dixon (13), Miller (12) and McDonald (10) also scored in double figures.
Sophia Torres topped the Lions with 16 points, while Sydni Oviatt recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 boards.
Middlebury shot a blistering 64.2 percent (43-67) from the floor, while limiting Eastern Nazarene to only 33.8 percent (25-74). The Panthers also held a big 42-28 advantage in rebounding.
