MIDDLEBURY, Vt. - Junior center Reilly Campbell (Wallingford, Conn.) had 17 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, and three steals to lead the visiting Trinity College Bantams to a 60-47 victory over the Middlebury College Panthers in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) women's basketball action this afternoon at Pepin Gymnasium. Trinity, ranked No. 9 in the nation, improves to 20-2 overall and 7-1 in the NESCAC, giving Head Coach Emily Garner the 100th win in her career. Middlebury drops to 12-10 overall and 4-5 in the league. Bantam junior Emma Wax (Pine Brook, N.J.) added 15 points and senior Bria Fuller (Springdale, Md.) scored 11 points. Garner improves to 80-43 in her six years with the Bantams and is 37-8 over the last two seasons.
Trinity closed the first quarter with a 9-2 run and led, 16-12, at the first break thanks to a bucket inside by Campbell with four seconds left. The Bantams slowly built on its lead in the second quarter and a three-pointer by Wax that gave the visitors a double-digit lead at 30-20 with 1:51 on the clock turned out the be the final basket of the first half. Campbell and Fuller scored the first two baskets of the second half and Trinity coasted the rest of the way with at least a 12-point lead until the final horn.
Trinity's defense was stifling, holding Middlebury to 27.3 percent shooting from the field and just three makes from beyond the arc in 20 tries to offset the Panthers' 14 free throws in 16 attempts. Trinity shot nearly 50 percent from the floor and was just as accurate from the foul line with a 9-for-11 performance. Sophomore Hannah Marzo (Shrewsbury, Mass.) came off the Bantam bench to score eight points. Alexa Mustafaj paced the Panthers with 16 points and Reagan MacDonald grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. The Bantams have a chance to finish at the top of the NESCAC standings for the second year in a row, as they finish the regular season at Bates and Tufts next weekend.