The Middlebury women's basketball team (11-9, 5-3) dropped a 72-56 decision at #11 Amherst (17-2, 6-2) on Tuesday evening. The Panthers return home for their final two regular-season games, starting on Friday with a 7:00 p.m. tipoff against #12 Tufts.

The Mammoths raced out to a 12-4 lead at the 6:16 mark of the opening quarter on a free throw from Courtney Resch. The hosts maintained nearly a double-digit advantage over the next few minutes, before a pair of charity tosses from Claire Miller pulled the Panthers to within seven (22-15) with less than a minute remaining. 

Middlebury chipped away at the deficit in the second stanza, moving to within 29-22 at 6:20 on a three-point field goal from Augusta Dixon. Amherst thwarted the Panther momentum with an 11-0 run spanning the next 3:41, taking a 40-22 lead on a three by Resch as the Mammoths held a 43-26 edge at halftime. 

Out of the break, the Amherst advantage hovered in double digits, before the hosts increased their edge to 51-32 on a layup from Dani Valdez near the midway point of the third quarter. With the two sides trading baskets over the next few minutes, a pair of free throws from Emily Downer and a layup by Alexa Mustafaj pulled the visitors to within 57-42 headed to the fourth.

The Mammoths held the double-digit advantage over the final stanza en route to the 72-56 triumph.

Mustafaj, the NESCAC's leading scorer, reached the double-figure plateau for the 16th-straight contest with a game-high 24 points and was a perfect 6-6 at the free-throw line. Miller finished with nine points and grabbed five rebounds, while Dixon added five points and five boards.

Gabrielle Zaffiro led Amherst with 20 points and seven rebounds, while Resch tallied 15 points and had six boards. Valdez scored 14 tallies, while AnLing Vera handed out nine assists for the Mammoths.