A 16-0 run to start the second quarter proved to be the difference, lifting the Middlebury women's basketball team to a 62-50 victory over Trinity on Sunday in Pepin Gym. The Panthers (14-5, 4-2) return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Keene State for a 5:30 p.m. contest, while Trinity (13-7, 1-5) plays at Wesleyan on Friday at 7:00 p.m.

The Bantams jumped out to a 9-2 lead on a three-point field goal by Becky Reifler with 5:00 minutes left in the opening quarter. The hosts answered with the next eight points, taking a 10-9 lead at the 2:22 mark on a layup by Sabrina Weeks. Trinity scored the final four points of the quarter, including a layup by Courtney Erickson for a 13-10 advantage.

Middlebury rattled off the decisive 16-0 run to start the second quarter, grabbing a 26-13 lead on a layup by Kira Waldman with 2:06 left. Waldman had eight points for the Panthers during the spurt, including two threes. The Bantams went scoreless over the first 8:09 of the stanza, committing four turnovers and missing their first 11 shots from the floor. Trinity closed the half scoring nine of the final 12 points, pulling to within seven (29-22) on a jumper from Peace Kabari.

The Panthers opened the third quarter with an 11-3 run, gaining their largest lead of the contest (40-25) on a three from Maya Davis with 5:15 remaining. The visitors chipped away at the deficit, moving to within five (43-38) on a pair of free throws from Erickson with just over a minute left. A three from Sarah Kaufman pushed the Middlebury lead back to eight at 46-38 after three quarters.

The final quarter saw the Bantams cut the Panther edge to five on two separate occasions, as Erickson knocked down a jumper in the lane for a 50-45 score with 6:32 left. Trinity was unable to get any closer, as the Panthers knocked down 8-10 free throws over the final minutes for the 62-50 victory.

Davis paced Middlebury with 14 points to go along with eight boards, while Waldman added 11 points, eight rebounds and a career-high four steals. Kaufman was the third Panther in double figures with 11 points, giving her 1,045 for her career. She moves into a tie for seventh place in the program's career record book with Katie Hubert '96, who also tallied 1,045 points. Alex Huffman also pulled down eight rebounds to go along with four points and a game-high five assists.

Erickson led the Bantams with 16 points in addition to eight rebounds, while Kabari had eight boards to go along with seven points. Meghan Lewis chipped in with eight points and three steals.

Middlebury held advantages in points in the paint (30-18) and a 45-38 edge in rebounding. The Panthers limited Trinity to 27.1 percent (16-59) from the floor in the triumph.