NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – The Smith College basketball team avenged an early season loss, defeating the Panthers of Middlebury College, 65-59 Tuesday night.

The Pioneers, who lost to the Panthers, 67-50 on Nov. 16, improve to 6-10 on the season, while Middlebury falls to 10-7.

First-year Samantha Alakai (Honolulu, Hawaii/Punahou School) paced the hosts with a team-high 15 points on 4-for-11 shooting from the field (6-for-7 FT), six rebounds, one block and one steal. Fellow first-year Meghan Holland (Atherton, Calif./Sacred Heart Prepatory) added 13 points, six rebounds and six assists, while classmate Amanda Barriscale (Mill Valley, Calif./Tamalpais) grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.

Middlebury first-year Sabrina Weeks (Los Altos, Calif./Archbishop Mitty) notched a team-high 16 points that included a 7-for-13 effort from the field, while senior Rachel Crews (South Burlington, Vt./South Burlington) had 13 points, four boards, a pair of blocks and one steal. First-year Sarah Kaufman (Boulder, Colo./Fairview) chipped in with 11 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore Krystina Reynolds (Wallingford, Conn./Hamden Hall) fashioned nine points, three rebounds and two assists to round out the list of highlights for the Panthers.

The Pioneers went into the break with a 27-17 lead. Middlebury came out strong at the beginning of the second half using a 14-6 run to cut their deficit down to just two with 13:15 to play. Sophomore Elizabeth Knox (Falmouth, Mass./Falmouth) connected on both of her three-pointers during the spurt, while Reynolds, Kaufman, Weeks all added one basket each over the 6:45 span.

Smith wasted little time responding, as a jumper by first-year Stephanie Soto-Rivera (Chestnut Hill, Mass./Beaver Country Day School) and a three by senior Alyssa Barrett (Berlin, Conn./Berlin) highlighted a 9-2 run that pushed the Pioneers lead back to nine (42-33) with 11:15 remaining. The Panthers engineered a 10-0 run (3:25 elapsed) receiving 3-pointers from Crews and Reynolds to spark the offensive outburst. Holland immediately responded for Smith with a pull up jumper from the top of the key, giving the Pioneers a lead (47-46) they never surrendered.

Kaufman's third and fourth free-throws with 5:14 remaining in the contest put Middlebury down by a score of 50-48, but Smith went 11-of-12 from the line to close out the win.

The Pioneers held a 36-30 differential in rebounds and a 31-9 margin in bench points. The Panthers had a 26-22 advantage in points in the paint and a 17-16 differential in points off turnovers.

Smith (6-10) hosts Clark University on Saturday, January 24 for a conference clash at 2 p.m. Middlebury (10-7) hosts Keene State Thursday for a non-conference tilt at 6 p.m.