Women's Hoop Stifled by Cardinal Defense

Author: Emily Berlanstein

The women's basketball season culminated on Saturday when Middlebury fell to Wesleyan, 71-53, in the quarterfinals of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) tournament. Captain Wesley Hyatt '03 polished off her career as the Panthers' leading scorer on the day with 12 points. She commented, "We definitely came out playing hard but our offense was completely stifled by their swarming defense." Middlebury shot an impressive 53 percent from the floor in the first half, but 14 turnovers and three-for-nine shooting in the opening minutes allowed Wesleyan to gain momentum from the tip-off and control the tempo of the game. Hyatt noted that, as a result of the intensity and pressure of the Cardinals' defense, "we failed to get good shots off and our own defense became a little rattled."
In the second half, the game seemed to slip away from the Panthers, who shot five-for-26 from the floor. They were impressive from the free throw line, sinking 15 of 18, but this effort was not enough to save the game.
The Panthers finish the regular season with a .500 record (12-12). Hyatt reflected, "All in all, we feel that we had some big games at important times, but too often we fell just short of getting the win." She pointed to notable efforts against top-ranked St. Lawrence (51-44), Bowdoin (64-54), Bates (77-68), and a previous match with Wesleyan (54-50). Toward the end of the season, as the Panthers learned to coordinate the movements of the entire team, they fell into a successful rhythm. Perhaps this transition occurred a bit too late. Hyatt lamented, "It's too bad that we didn't have longer because we were finally meshing together as one unit towards the end of the season, whereas we just didn't seem to do so early on."
Some notable statistics from the season include Captain Kristin Hanley's '03 second place standing on Middlebury's all-time scoring list. Hanley, who was sidelined for the last five games of the season with an injury, recorded 1,428 points in her career. She is third in rebounds with 733 and second in three-point field goals with 168. She is only the second player in Middlebury history to have over 1400 points and 700 rebounds.
Hanley is one of three captains who will certainly be missed. Hyatt was also one of the Panthers go-to girls, averaging 10.9 points and 5.4 rebounds on the season. But, Hyatt said Co-Captain Kate Shutte '03 really "stepped it up" this season, leading the team both on the court, as a point guard, and off the court as a positive role model.
Do not count the Panthers out for next season. They return Elyse Carlson '05, one of the team's most deadly offensive threats. "She will have a great career ahead of her," Hyatt said of Carlson. Also returning are Alexis Batten '04, a versatile forward who is a strong contributor in all facets of the game and Alexis Hollinger '05, last season's NESCAC Rookie of the Year. The Panthers are hopeful that they can build on this season and continue to work together, using a sophomore and junior class that now has experience in close games.