MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – The Trinity College Women's Basketball team fell to host Middlebury College, 65-52, in their New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) opener at Pepin Gymnasium Friday night. The Bantams move to 10-4 and 0-1 in conference play, while the Panthers sit at 11-3 on the season and 1-0 in NESCAC action.
 
Trinity sophomore Olivia Vick netted a team-high 16 points, shooting 7-of-16 from the field, with three steals. Sophomore Avery Marzo talled 12 points with three rebounds, while classmate Madi Forman grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds with five points, three assists and two blocks. Junior Samantha Slofkiss added eight rebounds with four points and two steals, and senior Hannah Marzo had six rebounds in the loss.
 
Middlebury senior Alexa Mustafaj led all scorers with a game-high 31 points, connecting on 11-of-19 field goals, with two assists, two rebounds and two steals. Senior Augusta Dixon logged a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, a game-high four steals and two blocks. Senior Kale Tornwini had eight points, while junior Calie Messina notched seven points with five rebounds.
 
Avery and Hannah Marzo teamed up for the Bantams opening points, but a 9-0 run from Middlebury, featuring five points from Mustafaj gave the Panthers a 12-4 advantage with 1:12 on the clock. Trinity used a layup from Vick and triple from Avery Marzo to close the gap to 12-9 after the first quarter.
 
Forman sandwiched a pair of buckets around a three-point play from Avery Marzo to make it an 18-17 game with 7:11 remaining. The Bantams grabbed a 22-20 lead behind a basket from Slofkiss and a three-point play from Vick, but four straight points from Mustafaj gave Middlebury a 24-22 advantage at the break.
 
The Panthers opened the third quarter with a 10-5 run, paced by eight points from Mustafaj to harness a 34-27 lead midway through the quarter. After a jumper from Mustafaj gave Middlebury a 38-29 lead, the Bantams worked at the deficit with buckets from Vick and junior Melissa Whitmore to make it a 38-36 game heading into the fourth quarter.
 
The Bantams kept play close early in the fourth quarter as a five-point spurt from junior Theresa Twardosky set the score at 45-43 with 7:19 remaining. The sides exchanged free throws, and then Mustafaj and Dixon went back-to-back to give Middlebury the 53-45 lead. A free throw from Whitmore kept the Bantams within two possessions, 53-48, but the Panthers rattled off a 12-4 run down the stretch to grab the 65-52 win.
 
The Bantams led the rebounding column, 40-34, and bench points, 13-6, while Middlebury controlled the paint, 38-28. Trinity shot 20-of-67 (29.9%) from the field, 4-of-19 (21.1%) from three-point range, and 8-of-11 (72.7%) from the foul line. Middlebury connected on 24-of-50 (48%) from the floor, 3-of-8 (37.5%) from three-point, and 14-of-15 (93.3%) from the free throw stripe.
 
The Bantams will look to return to the win column with a NESCAC road trip to Williams College (10-3, 1-0) Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.