Middlebury, VT – Outscored 18-6 in the fourth quarter, the Clarkson University Women's Basketball team was unable to keep pace with Middlebury College on Wednesday evening, falling 54-40 to the Panthers.

The Golden Knights saw their record evened at 4-4 overall with their third straight defeat at the hands of a NESCAC team, while Middlebury improved to 5-1. Clarkson closes out the non-conference portion of the schedule this Saturday with a game at Houghton College.

The first 10 minutes played fairly even with each team winning key battle points. Clarkson made three of its four 3-point field goal attempts, but the Panthers took advantage of their offensive rebounds, converting seven points on just three chances. Clarkson enjoyed an early lead (10-6) after a Devin Sorell 3-pointer at the 5:57 mark, but Middlebury finished the period tied with the Knights at 17-17. In the second quarter, Clarkson never led, but it also never trailed by more than three points. A near five-minute scoreless stretch played into the Golden Knights' hands as Raeanna Dunn sunk a 3-pointer with five seconds to go in the half to keep the game knotted up at 26-26.

Stephanie Grobe led Clarkson with seven points and five rebounds at the break, while Madison Shea had four points, four boards and three assists. Kathleen Coloney also chipped in six points on 3-for-4 shooting for Clarkson. Middlebury converted all four of its offensive rebounds in the first half for 10 points. Colleen Caveney produced nine points, four rebounds and five assists in the first 20 minutes, while Kathleen Harrison added nine points and five boards.

In the third quarter, Middlebury tallied the first five points for its biggest lead of the ballgame to that point, but the Panthers suddenly went cold, going 0-for-3 from the field, 1-for-4 from the free throw line and committing three turnovers in a stretch of four and a half minutes, allowing Clarkson to tie the game at 32-32. The Panthers finished the quarter with just a two-point advantage, but quickly turned pushed the margin to double digits at the start of the fourth. Middlebury started the final quarter with a 4-for-6 performance from the floor that included a pair of 3-pointers, all the while keeping Clarkson scoreless. Coloney made a jumper for the Knights with 6:35 to go to briefly break the Panthers rhythm, but it did little to alter the momentum as Clarkson scored just two more baskets over the next five minutes to stay within 10 points. The Knights tried to get back into the game with long distance shots but were collectively unable to make any of their seven tries in the quarter, and Middlebury made its free throws down the stretch to clinch the win.

Grobe finished with a double-double on 11 points and 10 rebounds and Kathleen Coloney added 10 points and five boards. Madison Shea added eight points and six rebounds before fouling out. For Middlebury, Catherine Harrison nearly completed a double-double with 18 points and nine rebounds, shooting an impressive 8-for-10 from the field. Colleen Caveney scored 14 and also contributed five rebounds and six assists for the Panthers.