The Middlebury women’s basketball team began their season with a pair of victories on the road against out of conference opponents Endicott and Smith on Saturday, Nov. 15 and Sunday, Nov. 16, respectively. The squad participated in the Tyler Tip-Off Tournament at Smith College, earning a win over Endicott by a score of 67-46, followed by a 67-50 victory over the host school in the tournament championship game the following day.
The Panthers opened their season with intensity, taking a 14-0 lead against Endicott within the first six minutes of the game. Middlebury maintained a commanding lead, holding Endicott’s deficit between seven and 25 points throughout the remainder of the game. Elizabeth Knox ’17 led the Panther’s scoring effort, recording a career-high 29 points in addition to five rebounds.
Rachel Crews ’15 scored first in the contest, landing a layup to spark the Panther’s early 14-0 scoring streak, in which Knox contributed six. Endicott bounced back from their early disadvantage, ultimately outscoring the Panthers 14-11 in the final twelve minutes of the half. The two teams entered halftime with a score of 30-17 in favor of Middlebury.
Middlebury continued to bolster its lead as the second half commenced, recording a game-high 25 point advantage on two occasions. The Panther defense held Endicott’s shooters to just 22.5 percent from the floor, while Middlebury managed to convert 27 of 60 field goal attempts, for a 45.0 percent scoring average. Offensively, Sarah Kaufman ’18 posted 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Sabrina Weeks ’18 and Alexis Coolidge ’15 combined for 16, with eight apiece.
After holding a comfortable lead for the majority of the second half Middlebury earned its first win of the season by a margin of 67-46. The victory was the first at Middlebury for first-year head coach K.J. Krasco, who joined the Panthers in this previous summer after serving for three seasons as the top assistant coach at NESCAC rival Bowdoin.
Following Saturday’s victory, the Panthers advanced to face Smith in the championship game of the tournament. Middlebury entered the matchup with considerable energy, scoring the game’s first seven points within the first three minutes of the half. Smith then reciprocated, posting an 11-3 scoring run to take their lone lead of the contest.
The sides traded scoring opportunities until back to back three pointers by Knox put the Panthers ahead 27-17 with 5:08 remaining in the first half. Smith answered with a three point shot from Shannon Saywell and a pair of free throws, cutting her team’s deficit to five.
Looking to expand their lead before intermission, the Panthers mounted a 10-4 scoring run, concluded by a Kaufman three pointer at the buzzer to wrap up the first half at 39-28.
Kaufman, in only the second game of her collegiate career, recorded 32 points on the day, earned all-tournament recognition, and set a new program single-game record for completing 20 free throws.
Middlebury assumed more defensive responsibility throughout the second half as Smith pushed to narrow the score. The Panthers edged out strong advantages in field goal shooting, recording 43.9 percent in comparison to Smith’s 30.8 percent. Additionally, the Middlebury team knocked out 25-30 free throw attempts for a success rate of 83.3 percent while Smith converted only 7-13, 53.8 percent.
Effectively fending off offensive efforts while continuing to convert allowed the Panthers to maintain a double-digit lead for the majority of the contest. Eager to claim the tournament championship title, the Panthers ended the game with a 13-4 run on the way to securing the 17-point victory with a final score of 67-50.
Mirroring her performance from the Saturday’s win, Knox contributed her first double-double of the season with 19 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Teammate Coolidge added an additional seven points, eight rebounds and a game-high four steals. Knox was named an all-tournament honoree for her efforts against Endicott and Smith.
The Middlebury women’s basketball team walks away from a successful opening weekend with two victories — one in the championship of the Tyler Tip-Off Tournament. “I think this weekend went so well because we stayed composed and disciplined on offense and defense. We worked hard to execute our plays. There was a lot of good ball movement and hustle to rebound,” Knox said. “In both games we made it a point to work together as a cohesive unit which sparked our offense and motivated our defense.”
The team looks to carry their momentum from the weekend into upcoming contests on the road. The 2-0 Middlebury squad will face Castleton on Thursday, Nov. 20 followed by Salve Regina on Saturday, Nov. 22.
