The Middlebury women's basketball team grabbed a three-point lead with 8:22 left in Saturday's contest against Tufts, but the Jumbos tallied 19 of the final 21 points on their way to a 67-53 win.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Tied at 5-5 with 6:12 showing on the first-quarter clock, Tufts manufactured a 10-2 run spanning the next 2:52 of action. Capping the surge was a driving layup by Siobhan Stapleton that gave the visiting team a 15-7 advantage.
• A bucket in the final seconds of the stanza by Catherine Carrafiello pulled the Panthers to within six after the opening 10 minutes.
• The Jumbos regained the momentum to begin the second frame, outscoring Middlebury 14-5 to build a 29-14 lead with 5:27 left. Annie Aspesi fueled the attack with eight points, including a pair of shots from beyond the arc.
• The Panthers answered with a run of their own, slicing the deficit to six (31-25) on a layup from Gabby Stuart with 2:00 remaining.
• The sides traded baskets over the final minutes before Calie Messina made it a 36-29 contest at the half with a buzzer-beating floater.
• Middlebury took advantage of the positive flow, posting 10 of the first 12 points of the third quarter to graba 39-38 advantage on two free throws by Stuart with 7:03 left.
• The teams continued their tug-of-war over the remainder of the frame, as an old-fashioned three-point play by Abi Stone gave Tufts a 48-45 edge headed to the fourth.
• A pair of baskets by Islay Moore sandwiched around a layup from Carrafiello gave the hosts a 51-48 lead with 8:22 on the clock.
• Tufts reeled off 17 unanswered points over the next 6:28, including six points from Stapleton, to seal the 67-53 triumph. 

NOTES

• Stuart led a pair of Panther players in double figures with 16 points alongside six rebounds and three steals. Moore posted 13 points and collected a game-best three blocked shots.
• The programs met for the 37th occasion in the all-time series.

Middlebury is idle for a week before returning to action on Saturday with a 3:00 p.m. tipoff at Williams.