The Middlebury women's basketball team opened its season at the UChicago Midway Classic, defeating Millikin 76-45 on Saturday before falling 66-41 to the University of Chicago on Sunday.

HIGHLIGHTS VS. MILLIKIN

• Ahead 6-5 in the early stages of the first quarter, the tide turned in favor of the Panthers, as an Alexa Mustafaj layup kickstarted a 12-0 run over a 2:39 span to stretch the lead to 18-5 after the initial stanza.
• Middlebury's advantage grew to open the second, as Mustafaj tallied five points and Keeley Baglio nailed a shot from beyond the arc to push the team ahead by 21. Millikin broke its scoreless spell of over 11 minutes with two free throws by Emily White for a 26-7 score.
• The Panthers continued to increase the lead, as consecutive makes from the free-throw line by Augusta Dixon paired with a three from Calie Messina gave the squad its largest lead of the half at 24 (31-7) with 3:36 remaining. 
• Millikin tallied the final bucket on a three-pointer from Matayla Tellis with 1:20 left to make it a 33-14 tally headed into the locker room.
• The Big Blue looked to produce a spark to open the third with an old-fashioned three-point play from Tellis to cut the deficit to 16 (33-17). 
• The Panthers responded as the trio of Mustafaj, Brooke Collins and Kale Tornwini were part of a 7-0 run while holding Millikin to 0-5 shooting to stretch the cushion to 40-17 with 6:24 remaining. 
• The Big Blue continued to widdle away at the deficit, cutting it down to 15 (46-31) on a three-pointer from Brenneisen with just over a minute left as the Panthers held a 49-32 lead after three.
• Middlebury continued to maintain a double-digit lead for the remainder of the contest, easing to the 76-45 triumph.

HIGHLIGHTS VS. UCHICAGO

• UChicago came out firing early, building a 10-3 cushion headlined by three-pointers from Bella Alfaro and Sophia North.
• Dixon started to pick up steam for the Panther offense by converting a jumper and layup nearly two minutes apart to cut the deficit to three (10-7) with 4:05 remaining in the opening stanza. 
• North put the Maroons back up by five with a driving layup before Baglio capped the scoring with a pair of free throws with 50 ticks left to make it 12-9 after the first.
• UChicago kept its foot on the gas in the second with a 14-1 burst to jump out to its largest lead of the half (27-10). 
• Dixon helped chip into the Maroon lead by scoring two layups and adding a free throw on the ensuing three trips down the floor to push the Panthers within 26-15.
• Two free throws by Baglio and Messina's second three of the quarter made it a 28-20 ballgame at the 1:59 mark before an Alfaro bucket put the Maroons back up by 10 heading into the locker room.
• UChicago raced out of the gates to start the second half. A Kate Gross charity toss sparked a 12-2 run for a 42-22 score with less than four minutes left in the third. Gabby Stuart broke the momentum by nailing a jumper to bring Middlebury to within 18.
• Catherine Carrafiello added herself to the scoresheet with two free throws with 1:07 left. Alfaro and North converted back-to-back step-back jumpers to push the Maroons ahead by 23 (49-26) heading into the fourth.
• Middlebury couldn't get any closer than 22 in the last quarter as UChicago held on for the 66-41 triumph.

NOTES

• Saturday's victory over Millikin marked the third time in the last five seasons that the Panthers have won their season opener.
• Mustafaj's 34 combined points extend her program record to 1,662 scored in a Middlebury uniform.
• Dixon tallied her first double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds against UChicago.
• Sarah Chenette (5) and Teagan Lind (2) scored their first career points for the Panthers.
• Sunday's matchup with the Maroons was the second all-time meeting between the programs, while Millikin and Middlebury battled for the first time.

The Panthers return to action on Wednesday, heading to Skidmore for a 5:30 p.m. contest.