The fourth-seeded Middlebury women's basketball team fell 74-39 to top-seeded Tufts on Saturday in NESCAC Semifinal action. With the win, the Jumbos advance to Sunday's championship game, while the Panthers will await their NCAA Tournament fate when the field is announced on Monday afternoon.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• The visitors jumped out to an early 2-0 edge on a layup by Augusta Dixon, but Tufts responded with a 21-3 run to take a 21-5 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
• The Jumbos tallied the first eight points of the second stanza before a jumper from Dixon made the score 29-7 with 3:48 left before halftime.
• Trailing 33-7 with 2:43 remaining, Middlebury put together an 8-0 run to end the half. The span was highlighted by three points each from Alexa Mustafaj and Dixon to pull within 33-15.
• The Panthers slowly chipped away at the deficit, cutting it to 16 (38-22) on an old-fashioned three-point play from Mustafaj with 6:46 left in the third quarter.
• Tufts answered by scoring 14 of the final 19 points of the quarter, taking a 52-27 lead on a layup by Sophia Davis.
• The Jumbos were never threatened in the final quarter and eased to the 74-39 victory.

NOTES

• Mustafaj tallied 16 points during the contest, giving her double-digit point totals in 47 of 49 career games.
• Middlebury made its first appearance in the conference semifinals since 2019.

The contest marked the fourth time that the two programs have met in the NESCAC Tournament with the other three meetings coming in the quarterfinal round.