Trailing by nearly 20 points in the fourth quarter, the Middlebury women's basketball team (7-6, 1-1) cut the deficit to just four points in the final minutes, but were unable to get past #17 Bowdoin as the Polar Bears (13-3, 3-1) edged the Panthers 77-72. Middlebury hosts Springfield on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m., while Bowdoin entertains the University of Maine at Presque Isle on the same day at 5:00 p.m. 
 
The Panthers got off to a quick start, opening the contest with an 8-0 run over the initial 3:37 with four points coming from Alexa Mustafaj. Bowdoin battled back, taking its first lead of the game at 12-11 on a layup from Jess Giorgio with 2:20 to go. With nine seconds remaining in the first quarter, Polar Bear Annie Boasberg hit a three-pointer to give the visitors an 18-14 edge.
 
Gianna Palli made a shot from beyond the arc to start the second stanza to make it 18-17, but Bowdoin responded and pushed the lead to seven (24-17) at the 7:36 mark. A layup by Emily Downer and a pair of charity tosses by Claire Miller brought the Panthers back within three (24-21) with 6:46 to go in the half. The Polar Bears had a 6-0 spurt to gain some breathing room at 32-21, before Middlebury answered with a 10-2 run to close out the half just four points behind (35-31). Bethany Lucey dominated the span, tallying eight points for the Panthers. 
 
Bowdoin came out of the break strong and never let up, taking its biggest lead of the game (58-42) to close out the third session.
 
The Panthers mounted a huge comeback in the fourth quarter. Trailing 65-47 with 6:44 to go, Middlebury went on a 13-4 run. Palli recorded eight points during the span, while Reagan capped the burst with a three-pointer, cutting the deficit to single digits (69-60) with 3:31 remaining on the clock. Down 76-70, Middlebury called a timeout, before McDonald stole the inbound and converted the layup to make it 76-72 with just 14 seconds left. The Panthers fouled down the stretch, but were unable to get any closer as Bowdoin secured the 77-72 win.
 
Lucey recorded a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Mustafaj led the team with 20 points. Palli tallied 14 points for Middlebury, while McDonald had eight points and three steals.
 
Sela Kay registered a game-high 26 points, while Boasberg had a double-double with 11 points and 14 boards. Giorgio and Jai Duval each had 10 points for Bowdoin.