Bumpy Trip Ends with Camel Crushing

Author: Emily Berlanstein

A vital league victory last weekend against Connecticut College has put the Panther women's basketball team back on the winning track. Coming off a five-game losing streak, Middlebury pounded Connecticut, 73-53, behind 18 points from Kristin Hanley '03. The attack was well-rounded in this contest, as Elyse Carlson '05 and Alexis Hollinger '05 contributed 15 points and 12 points, respectively. The win drops Connecticut to last place in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), while Middlebury remains in the middle of the pack at sixth place with a 3-4 league record. It seems that the Panthers will undoubtedly partake in the eight-team postseason tournament, which begins on Feb. 22.
Although the Panthers suffered several recent losses, there were numerous highlights for the team in the past few weeks. Against top-ranked St. Lawrence, Hanley scored 20 points and had 13 rebounds, Hollinger added 11 points and 12 rebounds and Wesley Hyatt '03 scored 10. The Panthers came within four points at halftime, but, while their shooting percentage stayed fairly even throughout the second half at just under 30 percent, St. Lawrence's offense successfully shot its way to a 51-44 win, capitalizing on several fast break situations.
Despite 20 turnovers against Colby, the Panthers played a strong second half but eventually fell, 77-60. Alexis Batten '04 led scorers with 12 points, Hyatt contributed 11 and Hanley and Carlson 10 each.
Against NESCAC leader Bowdoin, the Panthers held the Polar Bears to 25 percent shooting from the floor in the second half. Unfortunately, their 46 percent average in the first half still propelled them to a 64-54 win. Hyatt scored 15 points in the contest and Batten added 14 points and 11 rebounds.
In a heartbreaker against Hamilton, the Panthers were up by as many as 16 points but ultimately fell to the Continentals 61-56. Hanley had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Panthers and Batten also contributed an impressive 18 points and 11 rebounds.
The next game was deja-vu for the Panthers as they fell to Wesleyan 54-50 in the final minutes of the game. A late three by Hanley, who had 16 points on the day, brought the Panthers within two, but they were unable to clinch the win. Hyatt scored nine and Batten pulled down 11 rebounds.
Despite the recent results, the Panthers are determined not to let the disappointments knock them off track. The team will be looking to contend for the NESCAC Championship, and the players on the team are determined to remain optimistic. Hanley commented, "Although we haven't been successful in terms of wins and losses over the last week, we're really coming together and improving in many of the areas that we need to improve in order to win more games. We're coming away from these losses feeling good about certain things," she added.
In the next week, the Panthers have three games, all on the road. First, the team will meet Southern Vermont on Wednesday, and will follow that matchup with a long road trip to Tufts and Bates this weekend, hoping using their momentum from the Camel win to make winning a pattern and give them confidence for the playoffs.