Box Score MIDDLEBURY, Vt. –Despite a game-high 21 points from Middlebury's Tracy Borsinger, the Panthers (7-6, 1-2) saw the visiting Camels of Connecticut College (6-8, 1-2) pull away late in the second half for a 66-57 NESCAC victory in Pepin Gym. Both teams return to conference action on Saturday afternoon as Middlebury hosts Wesleyan, while Conn. College travels to Williams.
"I'm extremely proud of our team's effort tonight against a tough Middlebury squad on the road," Connecticut College Head Women's Basketball Coach Brian Wilson said. "I thought that we played our most complete 40 minutes of the season.
We took care of the basketball better than we have all season. To have only three second-half turnovers is a testament to our team valuing each possession. Carlee Smith and Jocelyn Summers combined to play 40 minutes at point and registered 5 assists vs only 1 turnover.
We responded every time Middlebury made a run, which we had trouble doing earlier in the year. We had an answer every time we needed one.
Tracy Borsinger was fabulous tonight, especially in the first half when we lost her on a couple possessions. We emphasized our defense of her at the half and did a much better job of defending her in the second half.
Aly Boyle brought a ton of energy to both ends of the floor and was the catalyst of our defensive effort against Borsinger in the second half.
Kayleen Murray gave us an offensive spark when we were struggling to score in the first half.
Tara Gabelman and Caitlin Cimino were terrific in the front court, combining for 21 points and 25 rebounds. I was proud of that effort, especially given that they are both not 100% healthy right now."
After a slow start for both teams, Middlebury opened a 6-0 lead at the 14:58 mark, capped by a three from Borsinger. Conn. College answered with a 16-3 run, highlighted by four points apiece from Caitlin Cimino, Kayleen Murray and Tara Gabelman. Borsinger answered with back-to-back threes, cutting the Camels' lead to 16-15 with 6:50 left to play in the half. Middlebury's Scarlett Kirk later tied the game at 20 with two free throws at 3:06. There were six lead changes down the stretch as Borsinger accounted for two of them on a three followed by a lay-up with 24 seconds to play. Kaitlyn Cresencia gave the visitors the final lead change with a buzzer-beating lay-up as the Camels took a 27-26 lead into the break.
The Camels kept a slight lead in the opening minutes of the second half before Borsinger connected from long distance tying the game at 36 apiece at the 16:04 mark. After both teams exchanged buckets, Conn. College went on a 12-5 spurt, as Murray chipped in six points for the visitors, building a 50-43 lead with 8:13 on the clock. Two lay-ups by Middlebury's Sarah Marcus kept the Panthers within five, but Conn. College muscled-out a 10-3 run for a 62-50 lead with 1:13 remaining. A Marcus three cut the lead to 64-57 with 18 seconds left, but the Panthers could not get any closer in the final seconds, falling 66-57.
Borsinger's 21 led all scorers as she shot 8-18 from the floor and 5-8 from downtown. Marcus and Laura Lowry each had nine points while Kirk added eight points and a team-best nine rebounds to go with her game-high five assists.
Gabelman notched a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 14 rebounds for the Camels. Murray also added a dozen, while Jocelyn Summers chipped in 11 and Cimino had nine and 11 boards.
