Women’s Basketball Baffles Bates in NESCAC Win

With its victory in the conference opener Friday, Jan. 9 at home against Bates, the Middlebury women’s basketball team got its eighth victory of the season, one more than the seven that the team secured in 2013-14. Since the New Year began, the Panthers have gone 2-2, adding an exciting OT win over Anna Maria on Saturday, Jan. 3 and suffering losses at Plattsburgh St. on Tuesday, Jan. 6 and at home against Tufts on Sunday, Jan. 11.

Guard Sarah Kauffman ’18 not only played an impressive 41 minutes, but had a great shooting night against Anna Maria in the team’s first game of 2015, going 6-14 from the field and 3-5 from deep en route to scoring 15 points in the 64-59 OT win. The game was hotly contested throughout with 11 lead changes. The Panthers took a two-point lead into halftime on a Holly Lanchantin ’15 jump shot, but Anna Maria was able to fight back and had two free throws to take the lead with eight seconds left. Lindsay Bond of Anna Maria was only able to get one shot to fall, forcing the game into overtime.

In the extra period, Rachel Collins ’18 opened the scoring with a three-pointer, creating a lead that Middlebury never relinquished. Collins finished with nine points of her 15 points in overtime.

“I think the time off definitely showed in our first couple games in the New Year as we strugled to find our rhythm and defend well,” said captain Rachel Crews ’15. “In our Anna Maria game, we were struggling offensively as a team and Rachel (Collins) came in and hit some really big shots for us...In a game in which we really needed somebody to step up, it was great to see Rachel come in and hit those clutch shots.”

“It’s my job, as well as the job of all my teammates, to be ready whenever the coach and the team needs us,” said Collins. “I knew that if I provided a bit of an offensive spark through my shooting and passing that I would be able to help my team to a victory.”

Following the thrilling victory over Anna Maria, Middlebury fell hard to Plattsburgh State by a score of 79-58. The big difference was Plattsburgh’s dominance on the boards, as the Cardinals out rebounded Middlebury 48-33. Elizabeth Knox ’17, Siobhan O’Sullivan ’17, Crews and Kaufman all tallied 11 points in the loss. Knox also filled up the stat sheet with six assists, four rebounds and two blocks, while Kauffman pulled down eight boards of her own.

Middlebury had better luck in its next matchup, the first conference game of the year against a Bates team that provided the Panthers with their only conference win in 2013-14. Middlebury earned a nine-point win, 65-56, by shooting well from beyond the arc (6-13, 46.2 percent) and gathering 30 points in the paint. Knox gathered a game-high 21 points and added seven boards while Kauffman put together a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Alexis Coolidge ’15 gave Middlebury the lead with a lay up with 11:29 remaining in the first half, a lead that Middlebury held onto until the final buzzer and stretched to as many as 15 late in the first half.

“It was so important for us to get the first conference win,” said Crews. “Especially being such a young team, it was good for us to establish right from the start that we will be a competitive team in the NESCAC.”

The Panthers couldn’t keep the magic alive in their second NESCAC contest, a 57-37 loss against Tufts at home on Sunday, Jan. 11. Middlebury had their worst shooting performance of the season, making only 25.9 percent of its field goals while tallying a season-low in points. Middlebury was again out rebounded handily (46-36), but played solid defense, holding Tufts to 21-60 (35 percent) from the field and 5-22 (22.7 percent) from deep. Crews led the Panthers in scoring with 14 points on the strength of a 4-7 shooting night from beyond the arc. Knox managed eight points and six rebounds and Kauffman chipped in seven boards and seven assists to go with her six points.

“We competed with (Tufts) for the first 25 to 30 minutes of the game,” said Crews, “but they stepped up their defensive intensity in the last ten minutes and offensively we did not respond well. I think it was a good learning experience for our team.”

Middlebury returns to conference action with road games at Wesleyan (0-2 NESCAC) and Conn College (1-1 NESCAC) this weekend.