Middlebury Outduels Wellesley Basketball, 63-42

WELLESLEY, Mass. - Middlebury earned a 63-42 win over Wellesley College basketball on Tuesday at Dorothy Towne Fieldhouse. 

The Panthers (7-5) had a trio of double-digit scorers. Senior Reagan McDonald (Holden, Mass.) led all players with 19 points, while junior Emily Downer (Methuen, Mass.) and sophomore Alexa Mustafaj (Yonkers, N.Y.) each had 12. First year Calie Messina (Auburn, Mass.) added six assists. 

The Blue (5-8) were led by junior Jiyun Chae (Chantilly, Va.) and first year Arla Hofer (Las Vegas, Nev.) with 13 and 10 points respectively. Junior Anna Greenthal (Orinda, Calif.) recorded a season-high four steals in the game.

The Panthers scored the first five points of the game before Wellesley stormed back to tie the contest at 9-9 on a layup from Hofer. Middlebury then went on an 11-0 run, aided by five unanswered points from Mustafaj and the Panthers led 22-11 after the first.

A putback layup on an offensive rebound by Hofer cut the Middlebury lead to seven at 27-20 midway through the second. McDonald did most of the scoring late in the second for the Panthers and Messina had four assists for Middlebury, who took a 34-24 lead into the half. 

The Panthers shooting was on full display in the third, with the team making 8 of 15 shots. McDonald buried all four of her shots, including a trio of threes. Greenthal had four points and a steal for the Blue in the third as the Panthers led Wellesley 54-32 after three.

The fourth quarter saw both teams play even with one another. Chae and first year Madison Wieboldt (Chapel Hill, N.C.) each had four points for Wellesley in the quarter as Middlebury finished a 63-42 victory.

The Blue hit the road next Tuesday for a non-conference 6:00 PM game at Dean. The Panthers return home on Friday for a New England Small Collegiate Athletic Conference (NESCAC) game against Hamilton at 7:00 PM.