The Middlebury women's basketball team battled in a back-and-forth contest at Colby, but could not pull off the victory in a 75-72 overtime loss.

HIGHLIGHTS

• After falling behind 4-0, the Panthers ripped off a 14-4 run for a 14-8 lead with 2:20 left in the opening stanza. Leah Poorman capped the scoring with a layup after a steal from Catherine Carrafiello.
• The Mules cut the deficit back to four in the waning seconds of the quarter as Ana Von Rumohr tallied two from the charity stripe to make it 14-10.
• Colby found its momentum to begin the second, as a layup by Chelsea Ibenegbu swelled into 11 consecutive points to put the hosts ahead by seven (21-14) at the 5:49 mark.
• Alexa Mustafaj caught fire to close the half for Middlebury, tallying seven points in a row to cut the deficit to one (30-29) heading into the break.
• Calie Messina sunk a three-point field goal and Poorman recorded a layup to give the visitors a 34-32 edge with 7:59 remaining.
• Both sides continued to trade buckets until a free throw by Katie Olenik pushed the Mules ahead by one (43-42) after the third. 
• A tug-of-war commenced to begin the fourth with neither side gaining a lead larger than a single possession. 
• Mustafaj fed off the energy, recording consecutive three-pointers to put the squad ahead 63-60 at the 1:48 mark.
• A free throw from Colby's Ibenegbu paired with a layup from Amelia Hanscom on back-to-back possessions knotted the score at 63-63 with 46 ticks remaining. 
• The Mules had a chance to win in regulation, but Olenik faltered from the arc with two seconds remaining.
• Middlebury found its groove to begin the extra session. Two makes from the charity stripe by Mustafaj and a layup by Augusta Dixon pushed the Panthers ahead by four (69-65) at the 3:38 mark.
• The squad kept the lead until the clock ticked under one minute as Hanscom tallied consecutive buckets to put Colby ahead 75-72 with nine seconds left.
• Middlebury called a timeout and drew up a play, but were unable to sink a shot as time expired to give the Mules the hard-fought victory.

NOTES

• Mustafaj poured in a season-high 38 points alongside three helpers and a trio of steals.
• Dixon grabbed 10 rebounds, moving her into a tie for second in program history with Kristin Manix (1993-97) in career boards with 802.
• Poorman tallied career-bests in points (12) and rebounds (eight).
• Colby and Middlebury battled for the 39th time with each side splitting the last four matchups.

Middlebury closes its regular season with a NESCAC home doubleheader beginning Friday against Amherst at 7:00 p.m.