Middlebury College's Alexa Mustafaj went 11-for-11 at the free-throw line and scored 24 points in the Panthers' 70-61 NESCAC win against the Hamilton College Continentals at Hamilton's Margaret Bundy Scott Field House on Sunday afternoon.
Hamilton (8-8, 1-4 NESCAC) was 24 of 63 from the field (38.1 percent) and went 8-for-19 (42.1 percent) at the charity stripe.
Kelcie Zarle '22 led the Continentals with 26 points and four 3-pointers. Zarle is second in the NESCAC with 19.9 points per game and has scored 20 or more nine times.
Hamilton's
Emily Hall '24 played a career-high 32 minutes off the bench and racked up 11 points, three assists and two blocked shots.
Claire Sehring '22 earned a career-high 38 minutes, and tallied nine points and four assists.
Emma Sehring '23 grabbed a team-high nine boards. The Continentals shot 38.1 percent from the field.
Mustafaj leads the conference in scoring with 20.1 points per game. Reagan McDonald tallied 19 points and went 5 of 8 from 3-point range for Middlebury (9-7, 3-1). Bethany Lucey recorded her second double-double this weekend with 16 points and 11 rebounds and added five assists. Gianna Palli chipped in 10 points and nine boards. The Panthers were 12 of 26 from beyond the arc.
Middlebury opened the first quarter with a 13-3 run, but Hamilton responded with a 7-0 streak sparked by a Zarle fast-break layup and a 3-ball. Middlebury ended the first stanza with back-to-back 3-pointers and led 19-10 after one.
Hamilton opened the second quarter with a 10-0 run and claimed a one-point lead at 20-19 on a jumper in the paint by Zarle. The Continentals and Panthers swapped the lead twice and there were three ties throughout the second stanza. Hamilton outscored Middlebury 18-13, but the Panthers still held a 32-28 advantage at the break.
Middlebury was 4 of 7 from 3-point range and extended its lead to double digits twice late in the third quarter. Zarle answered the Panthers with a trio of jumpers in the last minute and cut Middlebury's lead to six at 52-46 after three.
Middlebury took its biggest lead of 12 points at 66-54 with 4:02 left. Hamilton tailored a 7-2 response and cut the Panthers' lead to seven after a pair of Hall free throws and a Zarle 3-pointer with 11 seconds remaining. Mustafaj accounted for the final margin on two free throws with seven ticks left.
Hamilton travels to Northampton, Mass., for a non-conference contest at 12-1 Smith College on Tuesday, Jan. 25 at 7 p.m.
