POTSDAM, N.Y. — The Middlebury College women’s basketball team won twice on the road recently to improve to 4- heading into the Panthers’ home opener vs. RPI, which was played on Wednesday after deadline for this paper.
The Panthers will play at Colby-Sawyer on Friday before hosting Plattsburgh on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
On this past Sunday the Panthers outlasted host Clarkson, 53-49. The Golden Knights fell to 3-2.
The Panthers outscored Clarkson, 16-7, in the second quarter to lead at the break, 31-22. Middlebury pushed the lead to 37-26 at 5:57 of the third on a Kira Waldman trey, but Clarkson answered with a 13-2 run to cut the lead to 39-37. A late three from Sabrina Weeks helped the Panthers retain a 42-40 lead after three.
A jumper from Sarah Kaufman, a Colleen Caveney free throw, and two free throws from Maya Davis gave the Panthers a 47-40 lead with 6:13 left. Clarkson moved to within one at 3:39 and was down by 51-48 with 15 seconds left, when Molly Stewart got a good look at a game-tying shot. But Alex Huffman rebounded the miss for the Panthers, and they held on.
Davis and Catherine Harrison led Middlebury with eight points apiece, while Huffman and Weeks each had seven. Waldman chipped in with six points on two threes, while Harrison pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds to go with three blocked shots. Huffman added nine rebounds and a four assists for the Panthers.
Madison Shea paced Clarkson with game-highs of 15 points and seven assists to go along with nine rebounds. 
Middlebury outrebounded Clarkson, 53-36, and limited Clarkson to 23.7 percent shooting, including two for 16 in the fourth quarter.
On Nov. 21 Middlebury bolted to a big early lead in a 74-27 win over host Johnson State (0-2). Middlebury led by 27-4 after one quarter and 50-9 at the half. Thirteen Panthers scored and the Middlebury defense forced 31 turnovers that resulted in 40 points. 
Caveney scored 10 and Weeks added six points in the first quarter as the Panthers took charge. They finished tied for the game high with 12 apiece.
Kirsten Long and Betsy Knox added eight points apiece for the Panthers, while Huffman dished out four assists and picked up six steals.
Jocelyn Pellerin led Johnson with nine points, and Christle Page added six.