The Middlebury women's basketball team (6-5) fell 53-49 to visiting Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) on Tuesday evening. The Panthers are back in action on Friday when they host Colby at 7:00 p.m., while the Engineers (11-1) travel to Clark on Saturday for a 3:00 p.m. tip-off. 
 
Middlebury came out strong, opening the game with a 10-3 run over the initial 3:59 with six points coming from Alexa Mustafaj. WPI responded with a 9-2 burst to tie the game 12-12 at the end of the first quarter.
 
Out of the break, Adrianna Niles and Alex Scariati each sank shots from beyond the arc to give the Engineers an 18-12 lead. Middlebury cut the deficit to one (18-17) on a three-pointer from Mustafaj with 5:20 remaining. Knotted at 22 points apiece, the rest of the half went back-and-forth, with neither team able to take a large lead. The Engineers closed out the quarter with a layup from Scariati for the 28-26 edge. 
 
WPI carried its momentum into the third stanza, rattling off six-straight points to increase its advantage to 34-26 over the opening 1:57. The Panthers responded with a 9-2 run, cutting the deficit to one (35-34) with 6:42 showing on the clock. All nine points came from three-pointers, with Reagan McDonald accounting for a pair of treys. A shot from beyond the arc by Scariati extended the Engineer lead to 42-37 with 4:18 remaining in the third, before a 4-0 Panther spurt closed the gap to one (42-41) to end the third. 
 
Tied at 47-47 with 6:51 remaining in the game, WPI had a four-point burst to make it 51-47 with just under two minutes to go. A pair of charity tosses from Mustafaj brought the Panthers within two (51-49) with 59 ticks left on the clock, but that was as close as they would get as the Engineers converted two free throws in the final seconds to secure the 52-49 win.
 
Mustafaj led all players with 19 points, while Gianna Palli pulled down a game-high 13 boards and chipped in with eight points. Claire Miller had 10 points during the contest, while Lucey Bethany grabbed six rebounds. 
 
Scariati paced WPI with a double-double, recording 15 points and 10 rebounds. Niles and Emily Raynowska each tallied 10 points.