sportsbriefs

Author: Simon Keyes

XC star Alexandra Krieg '09 places third at NCAAs

Middlebury's fall sports continued their season of excellence as the women's cross country team showed true mettle at the NCAA Championships at St. Olaf's in Minnesota, finishing 15th in a 32-team field. Amherst went on to win the championships. On the individual side, Alexandra Krieg '09 finished third in a 280-runner field. Jimmy Butcher '08 ran for men's squad and finished 135th.

Krieg, who already merited All-NESCAC honors, also achieved All-American status with her time of 21:23, which was only 29 seconds off of the lead. Seniors Ceara Danaher and Kate Hirschboeck followed Krieg by finishing 85th and 144th respectively. Rounding out the team were Sophia Spring '11 (169th), Amanda Lee '11 (172nd), Sarah Norton '08 (225th) and Kaitlynn Saldanha '11 (252nd).


Men's basketball wins home opener against SLU

After going 1-1 at the Stevens Tournament in Hoboken, N.J., the men returned to the friendly confines of Pepin Gymnasium and won their home opener versus St. Lawrence 86-67 on Nov. 20. A balanced offense that saw five players score double-digit points combined with a stingy defense that forced 17 turnovers and both proved far too much for the Saints.

The Panthers entered the locker room at halftime with a 40-33 lead but would see that lead expand early in the second half. Andrew Harris '08 and Albert Handy '08 combined for all of the nine points in a 9-0 run that started the second half. The Saints tried to claw their way back into the game, but with the Panthers shooting 53.1 percent from the floor, they could not catch up.

Harris led the team with 16 points with 12 of those coming from international waters. Handy's career-high 15 points went along with seven boards. Ben Rudin '09 filled the stat sheet with 14 points, nine assists and six rebounds.


Women's basketball team opens its season 3-0.

The women's basketball team continued its winning ways on Nov. 20 by beating Norwich 63-50. After convincingly clinching the Swarthmore Tournament, the Panthers needed some comeback magic to pull out a win against the Cadets.

The Panthers entered the locker rooms down by eight points, but torrid shooting (48.6 percent) in the second half and stifling defense helped the Panthers coast to the win.

The game was won in the paint as Aylie Baker '09 and co-captain Lani Young '08 combined for 32 points and 22 rebounds. Always a threat to complete a double-double, Young did not disappoint as she overwhelmed the Cadets with 14 points and 14 rebounds to go with five steals.

Baker was a force down low as she scored a game-high 18 points, grabbed eight boards and swatted four shots. To add to the Cadets' misery, Ashley Barron '09 kept the Norwich perimeter defense honest by draining three three-pointers en route to 13 points.