Women's basketball secures big win

Author: Jeff Klein

The Panthers are heading into conference play on the right note.

With a balanced scoring attack and several solid late-game stands, the Middlebury women's basketball team earned a 69-57 win over Skidmore at Pepin Gymnasium on Jan. 10.

The victory evens the Panthers' record at 6-6, only the third time the team has been at least .500 on the year.

Yet the boost could not have come at a better time for the Panthers, who begin NESCAC play this weekend. They hit the rode for Bates this Friday and will square off against Tufts on Saturday.

It wasn't easy getting there. The Skidmore Thoroughbreds came out of the gate racing, using an early 8-0 spurt to give them a 16-9 lead at the 13:08 mark.

One of the signs of a good team is the ability to withstand pressure and not fold when the other team grabs the momentum for a period of time. Middlebury was able to counteract Skidmore's run with an 11-1 run of its own.

The spurt gave the Panthers a 20-17 lead with 9:06 remaining in the first half.

Neither team could permanently seize the upper hand. The lead seesawed back and forth throughout the rest of the half, and Middlebury took a tenuous 34-31 lead going into the halftime break.

Following the trend of the first half, the second half immediately began with one team grabbing hold of the momentum, as Middlebury put together an impressive 8-0 run.

Kaitlyn Fallon '10 was instrumental in the spurt, as her pair of hoops gave the Panthers a 41-33 advantage early in the second stanza.

Again, though, that lead did not last long. Skidmore narrowed the lead to a single point three different times, and Laura Michael's bucket with 6:03 left finally deadlocked the contest at 54 apiece.

But that would represent the last signs of life the Thoroughbreds would see on this afternoon.

The Panthers went on their second 8-0 run of the half behind two clutch baskets from Alana Wall '10, which gave them a 63-54 lead with just 2:45 left to play.

The best way for a team with a lead late in the game to put the nail in the coffin is to hit its free throws. That's exactly what Middlebury did, going four-for-four from the charity stripe in the game's waning moments to cement the 69-57 victory.

"I think the key against Skidmore was our patience offensively," said co-captain Emily Johnson '09. "Against any full-court press and zone defense it is possible to get impatient but we stuck to running our stuff and it paid off for us in the end."

Johnson netted nine points, including a perfect six for six from the line, and Lauren Sanchez '11 and Brittany Parfetti '12 each scored eight to complete the balanced Middlebury attack.

Now the Panthers face a tall order as they prepare to do battle with Bates Bobcats, who are 10-4, and the Tufts Jumbos, who sport an even more impressive 9-1 record heading into NESCAC competition.

But none of that will deter the Panthers, who have their own reasons for being confident after their strong play as of late.

In each of their last three games, the Panthers have outrebounded their opponent, something that attests to the team's increased physicality and grittier play around the rim as of late.

The continued success of the inside game will undoubtedly be crucial as the team takes on the NESCAC conference.



"I have the utmost confidence in my team and our ability to perform well in league play," said Johnson.

In particular, the two team captains, Barron and Johnson, can easily catch fire at any given time. They will remain, both in leadership and skill, essential to Middlebury's success.