The Middlebury women's basketball team (11-8, 5-2) got out to a strong start, and despite a late comeback attempt from Wesleyan (10-11, 3-5), hung on for the 59-51 victory. The Panthers travel to Amherst on Tuesday for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off before heading home for the weekend to host their final pair of regular season contests. 
 
Middlebury took a 5-0 edge on a trey from Bethany Lucey at the 9:17 mark, before the Cardinals pulled even with a three-pointer from Caleigh Ryan at the midpoint of the opening stanza. Leading by one (10-9), the Panthers went on an 8-2 run with all points coming from Lucey and Alexa Mustafaj, making it 18-11 with 53 seconds left. Wesleyan's Marina Petruzzi converted a pair of charity tosses in the final seconds to cut the deficit to 18-13 at the break. 
 
The Panthers slowly increased their lead in the second quarter, taking their biggest advantage at 27-16 with a free throw from Mustafaj with 5:04 remaining. Tori DaCosta cut the deficit to single digits (27-18) with a layup at the 4:11 mark, but Middlebury tallied six of the final nine points to take a 33-21 advantage heading into the intermission.
 
Petruzzi converted two free throws to start the third quarter, cutting the Panther lead to 33-23. Leah Poorman sank a three to spark a 7-2 run for Middlebury, increasing the advantage to 40-25 at the 7:20 mark. Lucey gave the Panthers an 18-point cushion (46-28) with a jump shot with 5:14 on the clock. Wesleyan answered with a 10-0 run capped by a three from Ryan with 1:06 to go, cutting the advantage back down to single digits. Emily Downer tallied a pair of free throws to increase the lead back to 10 (48-38) at the end of the session.
 
The teams traded points early in the final frame, but the Cardinals continued their comeback attempt, getting within five (53-48) with 2:15 remaining. Middlebury converted five-of-six charity tosses down the stretch, making it 58-48 with 18 seconds remaining. Ryan sank a shot from beyond the arc with nine ticks left on the clock, but it wasn't enough for Wesleyan, as the Panthers hung on for the 59-51 win.
 
Mustafaj reached double figures for the 14th-straight time, leading all players with 21 points. She also had a game-high five steals and contributed defensively with five boards. Lucey nearly recorded a double-double with 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds. She was a perfect six-for-six at the charity stripe.
 
Ryan recorded a double-double, pacing the Cardinals with 18 points and 13 rebounds. DaCosta also grabbed 13 boards for Wesleyan, while chipping in with eight points.