Despite Elizabeth Knox's third career double-double, Middlebury dropped a closely contested NESCAC game to 14th-ranked Williams 60-55 in Pepin Gym. The Panthers (6-11, 1-4) held the largest lead of the game with an early 11-2 advantage, but the Ephs (18-2, 4-2) closed the gap, eventually retaking the lead in the second half. Middlebury will look to rebound with a NESCAC road game against Hamilton on  Sunday, while Williams hosts Bates on February 7th.

After an opening bucket by Williams' Kellie Macdonald, Middlebury went on an 11-0 run, highlighted by six points from Knox as Laura Lowry capped the scoring with a three at 15:41. The Ephs chipped away at the Panther lead, making it a 13-11 game on a pair of Macdonald free throws with 10:29 left in the half. Middlebury kept a small lead over the next six minutes of play before a Devon Caveney lay-up knotted the score at 22-22. The Ephs regained the lead on a jumper from Ellen Cook just over a minute later, as Knox followed with a game-tying jumper. The duo exchanged baskets one more time before Lowry knocked down another three for a 29-26 lead with 13 seconds on the clock. In the final seconds, Williams' Lauren McCall put back a Cook miss as the horn sounded, setting the intermission score at 29-28 for the hosts.

A Lowry three opened the second half, countered by a trey from Macdonald. There were seven lead changes over the next several minutes, but McCall's basket at 11:40 gave the visitors their final lead of the game at 46-45.  Williams went on a 9-2 run after regaining the lead, as McCall chipped in five more points during the span.

Trailing 55-47, Middlebury made it a two-possession game with a basket by Rachel Crews and a free throw from Sarah Marcus, but a lay-in from Macdonald gave Williams a 57-50 lead with 1:49 left to play. While neither team shot well from the floor down the stretch, the Panthers hit 3-4 free throws, and cut the deficit to 57-53 with 20 second left to play. As the Panthers were forced to foul, Cook knocked down a pair of free throws for a 59-53 lead with 18 seconds on the clock.

After a Panther miss from long range was collected by Williams' Oge Uwanaka, she was fouled. Uwanaka knocked down 1-2 free throws giving Williams a 60-53 lead with under 10 seconds to play. Williams allowed Lowry to dribble in for a lay-up and the last basket of the game in the final seconds, earning a 60-55 win.

Knox and Lowry each netted 17 points, while Knox added 10 rebounds to go with her career-high in points for the Panthers.  Knox was a crisp 8-12 from the field earning her third double-double in 16 career games, while Lowry sank four three-pointers and dished out five assists.

Macdonald finished with a game-high 19 points on 7-15 shooting while McCall chipped in a dozen off the bench. Cook finished with six points, five assists and a team-best 10 rebounds.