Hartford, Conn. - The visiting Middlebury College Panthers closed the game with a 10-4 run to earn a 65-59 victory over the Trinity College Bantams in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) women's basketball action this afternoon at Oosting Gymnasium.  Trinity falls to 12-10 overall and finishes its NESCAC slate at 3-7.  Middlebury improves to 16-7 overall and ends up at 6-4 in the league.  Trinity first-year Peace Kabari (Manchester, N.H.) scored 19 of her game-high 21 points in the second half.

Trinity trailed, 50-37, seven seconds into the fourth quarter after a three-pointer by Panther junior guard Sarah Kaufman (Boulder, Colo.), but used an 18-5 spurt to tie the game at 55-all with 3:33 on the clock.  Kabari started the run on a bucket inside with 8:51 on the clock and scored 13 of the 18 including the game-tying layup after a steal by Trinity sophomore center Courtney Erickson (Everett, Mass.).  Middlebury sophomore guard Colleen Caveney (Andover, Mass.) scored on a drive on the ensuing Panther possession, however, and rookie forward Betsy Knox (Bethesda, Md.) drilled a jumper to put the visitors ahead, 59-55, with 1:39 remaining.  Trinity sophomore guard Erica Junquet (Monroe, N.J.) made a pair of free throws to bring the Bantams to within two with 42 seconds remaining, but the Bantams misfired on a pair of three-pointers down the stretch and the Panthers went 6-for-6 from the line in the final 35 seconds.

The teams were tied, 14-14, after one quarter, and Trinity led, 21-20, with 5:42 left in the first half after a Kabari put-back, but Middlebury scored seven in a row on a trey by Kaufman and ywo baskets by Knox.  In the final two minutes, Trinity sophomore guard Rebecca Riefler (Garden City, N.Y.) made a three-pointer and Kaufman scored inside the make the score, 29-24, at the break. Bantam senior guard Sheena Landy (Durham, Conn.) opened the second half with a jumper, but Middlebury scored the next six points and eventually pushed its leas to double digits on at the end of the third quarter.

Kabari finished 7-for-10 from the field and made all seven of her foul shots to go with four rebounds and four steals, while Erickson finished with four boards and four assists, and Junquet scored six points off the bench for the Bantams.  Sophomore center Catherine Harrison (Duxbury, Mass.) had 14 points, 14 rebounds, and two blocked shots for the Panthers, while Kaufman had team-highs of 17 points and six assists, and Knox totaled 15 points and three steals for Middlebury.  Trinity outrebounded the Panthers, 35-34, but no Bantam had more than four.  Trinity made just five treys in 24 attempts and committed 21 turnovers, but kept itself in the game at the foul line with a 82.4 free-throw shooting percentage.