MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury College women’s basketball team won two out of three recent games, splitting a pair of weekend NESCAC games on the road before winning a non-league home game on Tuesday. The Panthers (10-5, 2-2 NESCAC) return to action on Sunday afternoon at Williams.
On this past Friday, host Tufts (the No. 12 team in NCAA Division III at 13-2, 4-0 NESCAC) pulled away late for a 57-37 win over the Panthers.
Middlebury closed what had been a 30-16 third-quarter Tufts lead to 34-27 late in the period, but the Jumbos scored the final hoop of the period and then earned a 21-10 fourth-quarter edge.
Colleen Caveney led Middlebury with 12 points and six rebounds. Eileen Daley added eight points, 11 rebounds and two steals for the Panthers, while Alex Huffman scored eight with five boards. The Panthers were held to just 21.6 percent shooting from the floor.
Lauren Dillon drained four three-pointers and led three Jumbo players in double figures with 12 points.
On Saturday, the Panthers outlasted host Bates, 61-56. Middlebury outscored Bates 32-16 in the paint and held off a second-half rally by the Bobcats (5-10, 1-3 NESCAC).
All five Middlebury (9-5, 2-2) starters scored between nine and 11 points in the win, including Daley and Sarah Kaufman with 11 points apiece. Caveney made all three of her three-pointers for nine points, while Catherine Harrison grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds to go with nine points. Kaufman dished out a game-high five assists and Alex Huffman scored 10 points. Bernadette Connors and Nina Davenport scored 17 points apiece for Bates.
Middlebury led at the half, 28-24, after leading by as many as 11 in the first half. The Panthers upped the lead to 36-28, but Bates fought back to take a 42-41 advantage before the teams settled for a 43-43 tie after three quarters.
Bates led for the final time after a three to start the fourth period, but a 6-0 Middlebury run, with hoops by Harrison, Weeks and Kaufman, gave the lead to Middlebury for good at 49-46. 
Late in the period, Connors drained threes late on consecutive Bates possessions, with the second one cutting the gap to 57-56 with 1:03 to go. The Panthers answered in the final minute with Kaufman assisting a Daley layup and Huffman driving for an unassisted hoop.
On Tuesday, Middlebury picked up a 70-57 win over visiting Smith (6-9). Daley scored a career-high 14 points and tied a career-best with 13 rebounds to pace the Panthers, who pulled away from a 17-17 second-quarter tie with a 9-0 run and closed the third quarter with a 10-1 run to lead by 52-39 after three periods.
Kaufman led all scorers with 21 points, while Weeks netted 11. Harrison finished with 10 points and eight boards, while Huffman grabbed seven rebounds and dished out four assists. Center Kennedy Guest-Pritchett paced Smith with 17 points and 14 rebounds.