Middlebury, Vt. – The Trinity College women's basketball team outscored Middlebury by a 46-25 count during the second and third quarters, including a 23-8 tally in the latter, for a 77-48 victory over Middlebury in the team's New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) regular season finale on Saturday afternoon. The Bantams made 17-straight free throws to start the game and 19-21 overall, while Middlebury went 8-15 from the charity stripe for the contest. Trinity improves to 11-11 overall and 1-9 in conference play while Middlebury falls to 11-12 overall and 3-7 in NESCAC action.

Over a stretch of 3:32 early in the opening quarter, Trinity rattled off eight-straight points, capped off by a jumper from senior captain Mackenzie Griffin(Stamford, Conn.) thanks to an assist by fellow senior captain, Lexi Menard (Wallingford, Conn.). Middlebury cut the Bantam lead to five on back-to-back layups by Colleen Caveney (Andover, Mass.) and Sarah Kaufman (Boulder, Colo.), but a shot in the paint by Trinity's Emily Llerena (New Milford, Conn.) gave the visitors a 14-7 lead after one quarter.           

Middlebury recorded five of the opening seven points of the second quarter via a jumper by Eileen Daley (Hanover, N.H.) and a three-pointer from Kaufman to pull within four (16-12) with 8:34 showing on the clock. Trinity stopped the Panther momentum thanks to a 13-2 run spanning the next 4:06 for a 29-14 lead with 4:28 left. The Bantams maintained a double-digit advantage for the remainder of the second quarter, taking a 37-24 lead into halftime.

Out of the break, the Bantams began the third quarter with a 10-2 run over the initial 3:52 for a 47-26 advantage on a jumper from Griffin. Trinity continued its momentum with 13 of the final 19 points for a 28-point lead (60-32) after three quarters as they held on for the 29 point victory.

Trinity knocked down 60 percent (15-25) of their shots in the second half, limiting the Panthers to just 22.9 percent (8-35) shooting from the floor in the final 20 minutes.  The Bantams had three players in double figures, led by a game-high 20 points from Griffin to go with 10 rebounds and four steals, while Sheena Landy (Durham, Conn.) chipped in with 14 points and three steals. Llerena added 12 points and seven rebounds for the Bantams off the bench.

Trinity returns to action on Tuesday, February 16, for its regular season finale when they travel to Anna Maria. Game time is set for 6 p.m