MIDDLEBURY — Sometimes statistics can be misleading. But in Tuesday’s night’s home game for the Middlebury College women’s basketball team against St. Lawrence, the underlying numbers pointed to the truth: The Panthers ruled the second half in their 66-41 victory, their seventh in eight outings.

The scrappy Saints played hard in their play-on-player defense, holding the Panthers to 22.2% shooting and outrebounding the Panthers, 27-22, as they took a 24-20 lead into the locker room.

But in the second half, the 10-5 Panthers played like the team that swept two NESCAC road games this past weekend against 11-win teams, one against then-10th-ranked Amherst. They worked the ball more patiently, hit their attempts in the paint, shot 61.3%, outrebounded the Saints, 20-8, and outscored them, 46-17. It also helped that junior guard Alexa Mustafaj, their leading scorer, broke loose for 20 of her 26 points after the break. 

Middlebury Coach KJ Krasco said she expected the 4-7 Saints, who run a non-stop motion offense, to come at the Panthers hard. She added she was a bit concerned about her team’s frame of mind entering a midweek non-league game after the big weekend, with another critical home NESCAC game looming against Bowdoin (13-1) on Friday.

MIDDLEBURY POINT GUARD Gabby Stuart goes on the attack vs. visiting St. Lawrence on Tuesday. Stuart had a team-high four assists in the Panther victory.
Independent photo/Steve James

“I told our kids yesterday their record doesn’t indicate who they are and how they play,” Krasco said. “They’re tough, they’re gritty, and they find a way to get their teammates open shots.”

The message certainly got across after the first 20 minutes. For example, Krasco noted the Saints got only one offensive rebound in the second half after grabbing 11 in the first half, and the Panthers continued to play tough man defense.

“We talked about that at halftime, being able to force them to take a contested shot and then rebound. I felt like we got a couple of unlucky bounces in the first half, but we also got a little bit outworked in the first half, too,” she said. “I knew this was going to be a challenge coming off such an exciting weekend to get our kids focused and getting ready to play a ‘midweek, we’re-in-classes’ kind of game.”

What worked in the second half? Krasco said the Panthers began playing to their strengths, and one reason Mustafaj found scoring lanes was the Panther forwards started to hit their shots inside. Forwards Augusta Dixon, Emily Downer and Bethany Lucey combined to score 18 of their 28 points in the second half as the Panthers played more assertively. 

PANTHER FORWARD EMILY Downer digs in on defense against St. Lawrence point guard Annie Perry during Tuesday’s women’s basketball game in Middlebury.
Independent photo/Steve James

“We relied heavily on the three of those guys this past weekend, and I think we can’t win games if we don’t get them the ball,” Krasco said. “In the first half, I thought we were playing a little soft, to be completely honest. We toughened up and got better position on the block, and at catching and finishing at the rim.”

The first half was hard-fought, if not elegant. The Panthers eked out a 12-9 lead after one period as Mustafaj scored six points. Elizabeth Flynn hit a coast-to-coast layup and a three-pointer to keep the Saints afloat.

Lucey scored in the lane to open the second quarter and make the lead five points, but the Panthers managed only six points over the next 9:30 as shots bounced and rolled off the rim. St. Lawrence slowly overtook them, with six Saints scoring in their 14-point quarter, including four from Norah Niesz in transition. A Cam Roberts jumper beat the buzzer for the Saints, and their lead was 24-20 at the half. 

Mustafaj sank a jumper to open the second half, but before the Panthers got organized on defense, Flynn rolled to the hoop for two buckets, and with a minute gone, the Saints led, 28-22. 

MIDDLEBURY’S KATE TORWINI and St. Lawrence’s Kristen Varin — both Burlington residents — chase down a loose ball during Tuesday’s women’s basketball game in Pepin Gymnasium.
Independent photo/Steve James

The teams began to trade hoops, and at 5:35 the Saints still led, 32-28. But the Panthers closed the quarter with an 11-3 run to lead by four. Mustafaj, who scored 11 in the quarter, started with a layup on a feed from Dixon, then another layup on a steal and a go-ahead three-pointer. Lucey then laid in a feed from Brooke Collins, and the Saints called for time, trailing by 37-32. Out of the timeout, Katie Chisholm hit a corner three. Dixon closed the quarter with a jumper, and Middlebury led, 39-35.

St. Lawrence’s Niesz hit a baseline jumper to open the fourth quarter and make it a two-point game. Dixon then scored inside, Mustafaj drove for two, and Downer drilled a jumper at 8:12, and it was 45-37. Jackie Malley and Flynn sandwiched hoops around another Dixon jumper, and the Saints had hope at 47-41 with 6:20 remaining. It turned out they didn’t have a prayer — St. Lawrence didn’t score again. 

Meanwhile, seven Panthers put up points as they closed the game with a 19-0 run. 

Margaret Dougher led St. Lawrence with 10 points, and Flynn finished with eight.

For Middlebury, Mustafaj added three steals to her 26 points. Dixon (14 points, 12 boards), Downer (eight points), Gabby Stuart (five rebounds, four assists), Lucey (six points, four rebounds), and Kate Tornwini (six rebounds) contributed on the stat sheet. Also notable was Stuart’s and Collins’s defense on top against the Saints’ motion attack. 

Krasco said the defense is a constant, and the Panthers increasingly are playing to their strengths offensively. 

“We feel confident the way we’re defending is going to allow us to compete in every single game. And then we’ve got to make sure we get the shots we know we’re capable of making and not wasting possessions,” she said.

MIDDLEBURY LEADING SCORER Alexa Mustafaj is fouled as she attacks the basket during the Panther women’s basketball team’s win over visiting St. Lawrence on Tuesday.
Independent photo/Steve James

Krasco cited chemistry as major part of the team’s strong start. 

“The majority of the group has been with us for two or three years,” she said. “We have a really good group that’s ready to work together through adverse moments. We didn’t start out the year like we wanted to, but I think we’ve really put our head down and focused on what we need to improve on.”

PANTHER FORWARD BETHANY Lucey gets passed the St. Lawrence defenders and puts in an easy two points off the glass on Tuesday evening.
Independent photo/Steve James