The Middlebury women's basketball team leaned on a 9-0 spurt to close the first quarter and never looked back in a 70-54 victory over Williams on Saturday from Pepin Gymnasium. The victory puts Bowdoin (8-0) and the Panthers (6-0) as the lone undefeated teams at home in the NESCAC.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Middlebury and the Ephs started the opening stanza with a tug-of-war, matching each other shot for shot for an 8-8 score with 5:26 remaining.
• The Panthers grabbed the momentum immediately after. A running jumper from Alexa Mustafaj at the 3:38 mark swelled into a 9-0 run, pushing the squad to a 17-8 lead after the first session. 
• Williams found its rhythm to begin the second as a three-point field goal from Ellie Tounkara capped a 13-4 surge over 5:38 to tie the game at 23 apiece. 
• The Ephs kept the score within one possession until an old-fashioned three-point play by Keeley Baglio pushed the Panthers ahead 34-29 heading into the locker room.
• Middlebury's lead grew to begin the second half before back-to-back buckets from Kale Tornwini and Augusta Dixon gave the home team a 10-point cushion (47-37) with 4:32 left.
• Mustafaj caught fire for the Panthers, tallying 10 points over the final 3:49 of the quarter to build a 59-42 advantage heading into the fourth.
• The Ephs would not get any closer than 14 in the final stanza as Middlebury secured the 70-54 triumph.

NOTES

• Mustafaj led all scorers with 24 points and a team-high six assists. 
• Dixon put together her 24th double-double as a Panther with 20 points and 17 rebounds. Her 17 boards push her past assistant coach Catherine Harrison '19 for third all-time with 760.
• The Panthers shot a season-best 51.8 percent (29-56) from the field while holding a 50-26 advantage in points in the paint.
• The teams met for the 62nd time with Middlebury claiming six of the last eight. 

The Panthers begin their four-game road stretch on Tuesday, traveling to St. Lawrence for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off.