MIDDLEBURY, Vermont – Middlebury erased a double-digit deficit in the first half, but Connecticut College used a strong final two quarters and defeated the Panthers 66-53 on Saturday in Pepin Gym. The Camels shot 52 percent (13-25) over the final two quarters and scored 42 points in that span. The Panthers (7-4, 1-1) play a non-conference game at Potsdam on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m., while the Camels (12-1, 2-0) are idle until Friday when they host Trinity at 7:00 p.m.

Connecticut College had the edge in the first quarter, as the guests were effective from three-point range, connecting three times. Kylie Caouette hit two of those, while Liz Malman made the other for a 17-6 lead with 3:13 showing on the clock. Middlebury scored the final basket of the quarter, when Sabrina Weeks hit a triple to pull the hosts to within eight (17-9).

The Panthers carried that momentum into the second, scoring the first nine points of the new quarter. A basket by Colleen Caveney with 3:41 expired capped off a 12-0 run that catapulted the hosts to their first lead at 18-17. During the run, the Panther defense did its part, holding the Camels without a point for 9:33 spanning two quarters.

The lead changed hands twice in the closing seconds, when Conn. College's Payton Ouimette scored on a conventional three-point play with 5.5 seconds left. Caveney quickly got up the floor and buried a jumper as the horn sounded. That final basketball sent the hosts into the half with a 25-24 edge.

Connecticut College scored the first four points of the third quarter and regained the lead, as Mairead Hynes and Caouette each scored from the floor. A put back by Catherine Harrison with 1:25 expired brought the Panthers back to within a point (28-27). The Camels took their biggest lead of the quarter at 41-33, but buckets by Harrison and Eileen Daley cut the difference in half as the hosts closed to within four points (41-37) at the conclusion of the third.

In the fourth quarter, Middlebury got to within a point (47-46) on a three-pointer by Sarah Kaufman at the 3:47 mark. The Camels closed out the game with a 19-7 run over the final 5:49, sinking 7-8 free throws in the last minute to secure the victory.

For Connecticut College, Hynes recorded a double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds, with Malman leading all players with 18 points and six assists. Caouette also scored in double figures for the Camels with 12 points.

Harrison posted her eighth double-double of the season with 12 points and game-high 15 rebounds, while Kaufman finished with 17 points. Daley had a balanced game with nine points, five rebounds and four blocked shots, while Weeks had seven points, seven rebounds and three assists. Caveney added six points and led the Panthers with four assists.