Women's hoops stays hot over Winter Break

Author: Sarah Luehrman

As January begins, the 10-2 Middlebury women's basketball team charges ahead on its best start in four years. "We have great senior leadership and a lot of depth," comments head coach Noreen Pecsok on the team's midseason status. "And that should serve us well going into league play."

The beginning of December brought one of the Panthers' closest games so far this season when they faced Union, a team that narrowly defeated them last year, in Pepin Gymnasium. Union fouls on Middlebury began to add up early in the first half, allowing the Panthers to build their lead from the free throw line. Though Middlebury sank 11 free throws during the first half and Union was never awarded a single opportunity at the line, the home team held only a slim 24-22 lead at halftime.

The Panthers maintained their advantage, but only narrowly, until Union tied the game at 40-40 with five minutes left. The clock ran down as Middlebury tried furiously to make a decisive break, and in the last minute of the game, they managed to pull ahead to a 48-45 lead. With mere seconds remaining, Union looked to sink a three-point shot to send the game into overtime, though they had been unsuccessful in scoring a single three all evening. The shot missed the basket, Middlebury snagged the rebound, and one final Union foul with 00:12 on the clock sent Emily Johnson '09 to the freethrow line, where she sealed the win at 49-45. Without their 19-9 advantage from the line, the Panthers would have had a hard time with Union, as the latter's shooting percentage from the floor bested theirs throughout the game. Leading the offense for the night were Johnson with 9 points followed by Katie Fisher '08 with 8.

Two away games before a long winter break brought the Panthers two more victories and built their record to 8-1. They first faced the Panthers of Plymouth State University, whom they bested 75-64. Fisher scored a game-high 17 points with Katie Fehsenfeld '06 close behind with 14, Maryann Verzosa '06 with 11, and Alanna Young '08 and Ashley Barron '09 each with 10. Plymouth State made a surprising comeback from an 11-point deficit in the first half and closed the margin to 25-24 as the clock ran out. Middlebury built their slim lead consistently during the second half and pulled away from their opponents decisively without looking back. Finally, the Panthers traveled to Green Mountain and came away with a 67-26 win. Jennifer Kelleher '08 led the offense with 12 points, and Young and Fisher supported her with eight each.

Upon their return from break, the Panthers claimed their sixth straight victory on their home court when they faced Clarkson University, slightly rusty after 29 days without a game. Pecsok noted that though the team had trouble shooting the ball, their "defense and aggressiveness were very good." Indeed, the home team's accuracy struggled from the floor, though they never allowed their opponents a lead. During the second half of the game, Middlebury increased their 8 point halftime lead to 18 with 8 minutes remaining. Clarkson managed to close the margin to 10, but they would come no closer to victory, and Middlebury ended the game 52-37. "Our press was great, especially in the second half," commented captain Lacey Hebert '06. "It gave us a chance to steal the ball, which always swings the momentum in our favor." Fisher scored a game-high 9 points, and Erin Lackey '08 and Barron each scored 8.

Middlebury's winning streak came to an unfortunate halt at Rensselaer, "a very good team" according to Pecsok, falling 60-54. Though they came back from a seven-point deficit at halftime to a single point score margin in the second half, RPI increased their advantage for the remainder of the game. The team's overall accuracy struggled, but Fisher's 12 points and Young's eight points and 14 rebounds bolstered their offense.

The Panthers' offense finally made a comeback Tuesday night in their home victory against Colby Sawyer, 66-62. Middlebury trailed for most of the first half, their accuracy from the floor struggling once again but they managed to close the score margin to a single point at the half. With help from two three-point shots from Hebert, they overtook the Chargers in the first five minutes of the second half. Though they maintained the advantage for most of the half, the Panthers found themselves hanging onto a slim two-point lead by the last minute of the game. After an intentional foul by Colby Sawyer, Johnson stepped up to the free throw line with seconds remaining and sank both her shots, solidifying the win. Captain Micaela McVary '06 paced the offense with 12 points. Aylie Baker '09 was close behind with 11. Middlebury will travel to Connecticut College and Wesleyan this weekend and will play Bates and Tufts at home the following weekend.