MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury College women’s basketball team split two recent games, working overtime to win a league game on Saturday before dropping a non-league contest on Tuesday. The Panthers (11-8, 3-3 NESCAC) will visit Colby and Bowdoin this weekend.
On Saturday, the Panthers outscored visiting league foe Hamilton by 13-3 in overtime to earn a 75-65 win and even their league mark at 3-3. Hamilton fell to 6-13, 1-5 in NESCAC play.
The Panthers led by as many as five in the first half, but the Continentals used an 11-4 run to take a 30-28 lead at the break.
The game stayed tight in the third quarter. Hamilton took a 40-35 lead on a three-pointer by Caroline Barrett at 4:04 left, but a jumper by Rachel Collins and two layups by Colleen Caveney put the Panthers back in front in the final minute before a late hoop gave the Continentals a 42-41 at the end of the quarter.
The Panthers led by as many as five points (58-53) in the fourth quarter. Lauren Getman hit a jumper for the Continentals to close the game to one (58-57) with 56 seconds left, but a putback by Catherine Harrison made it 60-57. Hamilton’s Sam Graber and Collins traded baskets, with the latter of those coming at 0:18 ticks. The Continentals’ Carly Greenburg then hit a trey at 0:06 to force overtime at 62-62.
In the extra session, the Panthers scored five of the first six points to take the lead for good. Harrison scored to put Middlebury in front, 65-63, at 2:54. Caveney followed with two free throws, and Eileen Daley added another. After a basket by Hamilton, the Panthers scored the game’s final seven points, five of them coming from the foul line.
Caveney netted a career-high 19 points and had four steals for Middlebury, while Harrison recorded her 10th double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Collins added 12 points, with Sarah Kaufman and Alex Huffman each adding 11. Daley contributed nine points and 12 boards.
Graber led Hamilton with 22 points and 12 rebounds, while Getman scored 19.
On Tuesday, host Keene State improved to 17-3 with a 64-56 victory over the Panthers. The Owls bolted to a 17-3 lead and maintained at least an eight-point lead throughout.
Kaufman finished with a game-high 23 points on five-for-10 shooting from behind the arc to go along with seven rebounds and three assists. Caveney added 13 points, while Daley finished with seven points and nine boards. Harrison grabbed six boards and blocked three shots.