Women lose four of five to NESCAC rivals Panthers record falls to 10-12 on the season after another tough week of play

Author: Heather Wright

The Middlebury College women's basketball team has moved to 10-11 in the past two weeks. They are 3-4 in NESCAC play after falling to Amherst by four points on Saturday.

On Thursday, Jan. 27 the Panthers played Keene State at Pepin Gym in a close match. The two teams stayed even throughout the course of the game. Middlebury was tied with the Owls with just second's left on the clock. Captain Elyse Carlson '05 hit a three with five seconds left which gave Middlebury the game with a score of 54-51. Keene had a chance to tie it with a three at the buzzer, but luckily for the Panthers the shot was off target.

On Jan. 29 Middlebury traveled down to Williams where they saw a two-game winning streak come to an end. The Panthers were no match for a strong Ephs team as they fell 81-65. Williams shot .487 from the floor in the first half and that made it hard for Middlebury to regroup in the second half.

Middlebury faced Hamilton at home in a non-league game on Feb. 1st The Panthers played a close first half, going into halftime behind by three points. However, the Continentals came out strong in the second half and the final score was 63-52.

The Panthers hosted Trinity on Feb. 4th and with the decisive win moved to 3-3 in NESCAC play. The final score was 60-49 and Middlebury was able to hold the Bantams to .282 shooting from the floor. Middlebury came out strong from the beginning and started with an 11-3 lead. Kate Fisher '08 who had 12 points and five of six shooting helped out the Panthers.

After a big win against Trinity, Middlebury was unable to come out on top when they faced Amherst last Saturday. The Panthers held a five point first-half lead, but fell by four to Amherst in a close match that ended 58-54.

This past Tuesday, the Panther women faced off against a tough Plattsburgh squad and once again wound up on the short end of the stick.

The resilient hardcourt team fought hard and battled, but fell one point short in a 58-59 loss. After the final buzzer had sounded, Plattsburgh found themselves shooting free-throws for the game. Unfortunately for Middlebury, one was enough to send the Panthers packing.

Clearly struggling without inspirational guard Katie Fehsenfeld '06, the Panther offense has lost its rhythm and will need to regain the confidence they once had if they want to make a push at the postseason. The Panthers travel to Maine this weekend to face Bowdoin and Colby, respectively. These are the Panthers final regular season games and the first round of NESCAC begins on Feb. 19.