Women’s hoop wins twice in three tries

MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury College women’s basketball team won twice in three recent outings, splitting its first two NESCAC games of the season at home this past weekend before picking up a road win on Tuesday.
The Panthers (8-4, 1-1 NESCAC) will play league games at Tufts and Bates this weekend.
On this past Friday, Sarah Kaufman scored 31 points to help Middlebury defeat visiting Wesleyan, 76-59, in the NESCAC opener for both teams. The Cardinals are 6-6, 0-2, after their opening weekend.
The Panthers took a 23-8 lead at the end of the first quarter, with their defense forcing eight turnovers.
The Panthers expanded the lead to 36-10 in the second quarter with a Kaufman three-pointer at 4:51. Middlebury led by 47-22 at the half when Colleen Caveney sank a jumper at the buzzer.
Wesleyan closed the gap to 11 in the fourth quarter, but the Panthers responded with a 7-2 run to take charge again.
Kaufman made 15 of 16 free throws and sank four three-pointers. Her 15 makes from the charity stripe tied a single-game program mark held by Emily Johnson (2007) and Sladja Kovijanic (1993). Catherine Harrison recorded 12 points and 15 rebounds. Sabrina Weeks added 13 points, and Caveney netted 10, while Eileen Daley collected 11 rebounds and four steals.
On Saturday, visiting Connecticut College pulled away in the second half and defeated the Panthers 66-53. The Camels (12-1, 2-0) shot 52 percent over the final two quarters while scoring 42 points.
The Panthers fell behind early, but a 12-0 run spanning the first and second quarters put them on top, 18-17. The Camels did not score for 9:33. Middlebury retained a 25-24 lead when a Caveney jumper again beat the first-half horn.
The Camels scored the first four points of the third quarter and never trailed again. They pushed the lead to eight, although buckets by Harrison and Eileen Daley cut the difference to 41-37 at the end of the third.
In the fourth quarter, Middlebury got to within 47-46 on Kaufmann three-pointer at 3:47. But the Camels closed out the game with a 19-7 run to secure the victory.
Harrison posted her eighth double-double of the season with 12 points and 15 rebounds, while Kaufman finished with 17 points. Daley recorded nine points, five rebounds and four blocked shots, while Weeks had seven points, seven rebounds and three assists. Caveney added six points and led the Panthers with four assists.
For Conn. College, Mairead Hynes recorded 17 points and 14 rebounds, and Liz Malman notched 18 points and six assists.
On Tuesday, the Panthers won by 65-45 at SUNY-Potsdam (1-10), taking charge with a 15-0 run that spanned the first and second quarters to take a 25-13 lead. They led at the half, 33-22, and stretched their advantage to 51-30 after three periods.
Alex Huffman and Rachel Collins both posted career highs in points with 16 apiece. Daley added nine points and 10 rebounds, and Caveney and Amanda Bayer contributed nine points apiece. Middlebury’s defense limited Potsdam to 29.3 percent shooting from the floor.

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