The Middlebury women's basketball team utilized a 15-0 run spanning 5:53 of Friday's first and second quarters to pull away for a 65-42 victory over Stevens in the opening game of the Stevens Holiday Classic. 
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Tied at 3-3 early in the first quarter, a layup by Dorothy Loffredo and a three-pointer from Lucy Alberici gave the Ducks an 8-3 advantage.
• The Panthers answered with a 7-2 spurt of their own, highlighted by five points from Alexa Mustafaj, to knot the contest at 10-10 with 3:46 left in the opening frame.
• A three by Alberici gave Stevens a narrow one-point edge (13-12) with 2:15 showing on the clock.
• Middlebury rattled off the final five tallies of the frame, including an old-fashioned three-point play by Bethany Lucey, for a 17-13 advantage.
• The Panthers started the second quarter scoring the initial 10 points, highlighted by six markers from Augusta Dixon, for a 27-13 lead.
• Middlebury maintained a double-digit edge over the remainder of the stanza, pushing it to 18 (39-21) on a layup by Kale Tornwini in the waning seconds before the halftime break.
• The Ducks tallied the initial five points out of the locker room, cutting the deficit to 39-26 on a shot from beyond the arc by Paige Gorczyca.
• The Panthers answered with a 5-0 spurt of their own on a three by Gabby Stuart and a layup by Brooke Collins to push the lead back to 18 (44-26) with 7:02 left.
• The visitors kept Stevens at bay, taking a 50-31 lead on a jumper from Stuart with 1:11 remaining.
• Middlebury was never challenged over the final 10 minutes of action and cruised to a 65-42 victory.

NOTES

• Dixon posted a career-best 18 points and matched her career-high mark with 14 rebounds for her second double-double this year and the seventh of her career. She also tied her career high with three blocked shots in the win.
• Stuart tied her season-best total with 11 points including a trio of threes, while Mustafaj added 18 points.
• Mustafaj had her impressive streak of 34-straight made free throws snapped during Friday's first quarter. She leads the NESCAC with an .887 free-throw percentage (55-62).
• The programs met for just the second time with each side winning once. The Ducks were victorious in the other matchup (65-55) on November 16, 2008.

The Panthers square off with SUNY New Paltz on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. in the final game of the Stevens Holiday Classic.