NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Connecticut College women's basketball team dropped a 55-48 final to Middlebury College on Friday night in a NESCAC match-up at Luce Field House.

Alexa Mustafaj led all scorers with 24 points as Middlebury improved to 16-8 overall and 7-3 in league action. Calie Messina chipped in 15 points while Augusta Dixon grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.

Rebecca Oberman-Levine (Hamden, Conn.) paced the Camels with 11 points and added seven rebounds and two blocks. Addi Hunter (Saint George, Vt.) finished with eight points and eight boards.

Neither team led by more than seven points in a tight game that featured eight ties and nine lead changes. Middlebury outscored Conn by a 9-2 margin at the free throw line and enjoyed 15 more attempts.

In the opening quarter, Middlebury jumped out to a 17-10 lead but couldn't hold the margin. The Camels countered with a 7-0 spurt in the final 1:28 of the period to pull even. Aislinn McMahon (Andover, Mass.) drilled a three to spark the run, and Catie Donadio (Clinton, Conn.) capped the stretch with a bank shot at the buzzer to tie the game at 17-17.

Both teams struggled to find the bottom of the basket in the second quarter, combining for just 11 points in the period. Middlebury scored twice in the final 30 seconds of the half to lead 24-21 at the break. Mustafaj led all scorers with 14 points at intermission.

Donadio opened the second-half scoring with a three-pointer to tie the game, and later a three by Mia Xerras (Charlotte, N.C.) put Conn back on top. The two teams then scraped and clawed the rest of the period and entered the fourth quarter tied at 38-38.

Messina was the difference for the Panthers down the stretch, netting 10 of the team's 17 points in the final period. She and Mustafaj hit back-to-back threes to open the fourth, and later she answered back twice with big shots after the Camels had cut the deficit to two.

Conn still had a chance in the final minutes after a jumper by Avery Burns (Orleans, Mass.) made it a one-possession game with 1:44 to go. But after the Camels missed on their next possession, Middlebury sewed up the win with four free throws in the final 24 seconds.

Conn College (5-17 overall, 0-9 NESCAC) will close out the regular season at home against Williams College on Sunday, February 11 at 1:00 p.m.