In the regular season, Middlebury women's basketball lost to Colby College by three points in overtime (75–72). Two weeks later, in Waterville, Maine, the Panthers must have felt deja-vu as they fell short by three points once again, this time in a double-overtime playoff show-down.
The game started slow for the Panthers, falling behind 7–0 to the Colby Mules. Despite this, senior Alexa Mustafaj ’25 came out of the gates with intensity, driving to the rim for a lay-up, blocking the next possession, and executing a saucy step-back mid-range jumper to take an 8–7 lead. In the first quarter, the Panthers benefited from the fact that the Mules were (quite fittingly) slow to get back on defense by capitalizing on fast-break mismatch layups.
Mustafaj set the energy for the first quarter, fighting through two defenders in the last minute to extend Middlebury’s lead to six. The second quarter action was a back-and-forth game of patty cake as the half ended 37–32 for the Panthers.
As the third quarter began, the Mules awakened and quickly took back the lead within four minutes of play. Augusta Dixon ’25 unleashed her inner Ivica Zubac and dominated the boards, recording an astonishing career-high 25 rebounds. The quarter ended as Calie Messina ’26 sank a thrilling buzzer-beater three from way downtown — waking up even the Colby student section.
Middlebury started the fourth quarter with a six-point lead that was cut to one within the first two minutes. Kale Tornwini ’25 took off this quarter by banging three-of-five from beyond the arc and stacking an impressive 29 points off the bench. The lead was in constant flux, and the Middlebury watch party grew more and more electrified. It was a two-point game with 44 seconds left, when Mustafaj hit a free throw to extend the Panthers’ lead to three. However, the Mules weren’t done fighting. Colby sank a clutch three-pointer to tie the score 81–81 and force the game into overtime.
Overtime started, and the lead was like a chameleon in a rainbow, changing almost every possession. The Mules and the Panthers were at each other's throats. As hope slipped away from Middlebury, Dixon dished a layup to tie the game at 90 with 1.5 seconds left. Colby got a good look at a mid-range shot for the win but sold it, sending the game into double overtime.
The second overtime period started strong for Middlebury with Mustafaj burying a deep three-pointer, then ordering a floater to give the Panthers a 3-point lead (95–92). The Mules responded quickly by going on a 5–0 run to tie the game at 97 with less than a minute left to play. During a minute that seemed to last an eternity with a flurry of timeouts and fouls, the Colby Mules emerged victorious at the end of a riveting double overtime game.
Standout performances included Mustafaj, who logged 34 points, Dixon, who grabbed a nasty 25 rebounds and Tornwini, who dropped an impressive 29 points off the bench.
This game marks the end of the Mustafaj era at Middlebury. She will graduate as the program's all-time leading scorer (2,180), and currently owns the school records for most field goals made (815) and most free throws made (397).
“I’m forever grateful I was able to get the opportunity to play at Middlebury and have teammates and the ability to create relationships that will last a lifetime,” Mustafaj said.
“I’m glad that I was able to connect with such an amazing group of girls who, day-in and day-out, put in so much effort into this team. Everything I do out on the court was fueled by those 14 girls,” Tornwini said.
Although eliminated from the NESCAC tournament, the Panthers await their NCAA Tournament fate, with the bracket announcement on Monday, March 3.
