AMHERST, Mass. – Panthers junior guard Alexa Mustafaj scored 33 points as Middlebury College dealt the Amherst College women's basketball team its first loss of the season by a 76-67 score in NESCAC action on Saturday afternoon at LeFrak Gymnasium.

The Mammoths, ranked 10th in the nation in the latest D3hoops.com poll and 19th in the WBCA poll, fell to 11-1 overall and 1-1 in NESCAC play, while the Panthers improved to 9-5 overall with their third straight win to open the NESCAC slate at 2-0.

The Mammoths are back in action on Monday (Jan. 8), hosting reigning NJAC champion Rowan at 3 p.m.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

* The Mammoths started strong, forcing turnovers on Middlebury's first three possessions of the game and building a six-point lead in the first quarter when junior forward Maya Cwalina drove to the basket to make the score 17-11.

* Middlebury senior forward Emily Downer scored the last five points of the first quarter to cut the Amherst lead to one and the Panthers took the lead on their first possession of the second quarter when senior wing Bethany Lucey hit a 3-pointer.

* Sophomore wing Sylvia Liddle scored for the Mammoths to tie the game and after junior guard Kori Barach made a pair of free throws, the Panthers reeled off an 11-1 run, the last six points of which were scored by junior guard Augusta Dixon with a pair of field goals and a pair of free throws.

* The Mammoths managed to halve the Middlebury lead but a layup in transition from Mustafaj in the final seconds of the quarter gave the Panthers a 35-28 halftime lead.

* The Panthers held the Mammoths at bay in the third quarter as Amherst only managed to cut the lead to five before a 7-0 spurt gave Middlebury a 51-39 lead late in the period.

* Middlebury sophomore guard Calie Messina scored the first basket of the fourth to give the Panthers a 57-43 lead. The Mammoths managed to get back within seven, but Mustafaj took control of the fourth quarter, scoring 17 points in the final frame, shooting 3-of-4 from the field and 11-of-12 from the free throw line to lift the Panthers to victory.

BY THE NUMBERS:

* Barach led five Mammoths in double figures with 20 points. Senior guard Reeya Patel netted 11 points, while Cwalina and sophomore guards Laura Mendell and Anna Tranum scored 10 points each.

* Junior guard Augusta Dixon posted a double-double for the Panthers with 10 points and 12 rebounds.

* The Mammoths shot 7-of-13 from the field in the first quarter while the Panthers were 6-of-16, but after that Middlebury shot 19-of-37 (51.4 percent) from the field while Amherst was 16-of-43 (37.2 percent).