WATERVILLE, Maine — The Middlebury College women’s basketball team split two NESCAC road games this past weekend and stands at 16-6 overall and 5-3 in league play.
The Panthers’ regular season wraps up this weekend with home games on Friday at 7 p.m. vs. Hamilton (14-8, 2-6) and Amherst (22-0, 8-0) at 3 p.m. on Saturday. A win in either game will clinch fourth place and a home NESCAC playoff quarterfinal for the Panthers for the second time in two years.
On this past Saturday Middlebury picked up a key victory by rallying past host Colby, 55-48. The Panthers held Colby (9-12, 3-5) scoreless for the final 4:38 to erase a 48-43 Mule lead.
 Colby used a big second quarter to lead at the half, 30-23, and still led by 40-37 after three periods. A three-pointer by Mule Katie McCrum (18 points) made it 48-43 before the Panthers put the clamps on Colby, which missed five straight shots and turned the ball over three times the rest of the way.
A Sabrina Weeks three started the game-ending 12-0 run, one in which four Panthers scored. Middlebury made four straight free throws in the final 22 seconds to secure the win.
Weeks and Maya Davis each scored 13 to pace the Panthers, while Betsy Knox added nine. Alex Huffman pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds, Weeks grabbed eight, and Colleen Caveney dished out five assists.
On Friday host Bowdoin (21-1, 6-1) pulled away from a 49-43 lead after three quarters to defeat Middlebury, 70-52. Middlebury briefly led the Polar Bears, No. 3 in NCAA Division III, 23-20 in the second quarter on a Caveney three-pointer, but Bowdoin led at the half, 30-29.
A Kira Waldman three again put Middlebury on top to open the second half, but Bowdoin took charge with a 13-2 run. The Polar Bears also opened the fourth quarter with a 12-3 surge to nail down the victory.
Huffman, Caveney and Davis each finished with 10 points for the Panthers, while Davis and Knox pulled down five rebounds apiece. Catherine Harrison chipped in with six points and five boards off the bench, while Weeks added five points and five rebounds. 
Sam Roy scored 13 points for Bowdoin, while Abby Kelly added 12 and Kate Kerrigan had five points, 12 rebounds, four steals and four assists.