Fifth-seeded Wesleyan held off a furious comeback attempt by fourth-seeded Middlebury for a 63-62 victory in a NESCAC Quarterfinal game on Saturday in Pepin Gym. The Cardinals (17-7) advance to next weekend's semifinals where they play at top-seeded Amherst. The Panthers see their record fall to 17-8 with the loss.

Trailing 6-5 with 5:53 left in the first quarter, Wesleyan put together a 15-2 run over the next 3:35, capped by a three-point field goal from Maddie Bledsoe for a 20-8 advantage. During the spurt, the Cardinals were 4-6 from beyond the arc. The lead grew to as many as 14 before a jumper from Betsy Knox pulled the Panthers to within 24-12 after one quarter.

In the second quarter, the visitors regained a 14-point edge on a jumper from Olivia Gorman with 5:44 left. The Panthers chipped away at the deficit, cutting it to six (32-36) on a basket from Sabrina Weeks with 2:30 remaining. Each team tallied quick 4-0 spurts over the remainder of the stanza, as a jumper by Knox as the buzzer sounded brought the hosts to within six (36-30) at the halftime break.

Out of the locker room, a basket from Maya Davis made the score 36-32. The Cardinals rattled off the next 10 points over the next 4:16 for a 46-32 lead with 5:06 on the clock. Tara Berger had five points during the run for Wesleyan. The Panthers closed the quarter on a 10-3 run, cutting the deficit to 49-42 on a jumper by Ivy Houde in the final minute.

The final quarter saw the Cardinals push their lead out to a dozen at 56-44 on a layup from Bledsoe with 5:53 left. Middlebury produced an 11-0 run over the next 3:03, moving to within one (56-55) on a layup from Houde with 2:50 on the clock. A three from Ava Tompkins and a pair of free throws by Gorman gave the Cardinals a 61-55 lead with 35 ticks left. A quick three from Kira Waldman cut the deficit in half. Tompkins split four free-throw attempts sandwiched around a pair of charity tosses from Davis for a 63-60 advantage with 13 seconds left. Middlebury raced the ball up the floor, as Sarah Kaufman was fouled for the Panthers while attempting a three. Kaufman missed the first attempt but made the last two for a 63-62 score. With Middlebury forced to foul, Wesleyan missed both of its free throws with two seconds left, as the rebound on the second attempt ran out the clock.

Waldman paced the Panthers with 14 points and four assists, while Davis and Catherine Harrison both chipped in with 10 points. Davis, Harrison and Alex Huffman tied for team-high honors with seven rebounds apiece. Knox finished with eight points and three steals off the Panther bench.

Bledsoe led the Cardinals with a double-double of 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Gorman ended her night with 19 points, including 15 in the first half. Tompkins added six points, five rebounds and four assists for the visitors.

The Panthers were held to 29.9 percent from the field (20-67), while Wesleyan made 46.3 percent (19-41) of its attempts for the contest. Middlebury held advantages in rebounding (43-34), bench scoring (32-2) and second-chance points (15-4).