MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – The Lasell College women's basketball team ran into some tough competition Friday evening as the Lasers fell to Middlebury College, 81-43, in Pepin Gymnasium in the Middlebury Tip-Off Classic.

Sixth-ranked Tufts defeated Springfield by an 89-51 count in the night's first game. Middlebury (1-0) will face Springfield at 4:00 p.m. Saturday on the second day of the tournament, while the Lasers (1-1) play the Jumbos at 2:00 p.m.

Junior transfer Amanda Ortiz (Newton, Mass.) paced the Lasers with 19 points and four steals against Middlebury, while graduate student transfer Breanna Muir (Wareham, Mass.) added eight points.

The hosts scored the first six points of the contest, but Lasell cut the deficit to 8-5 with 6:26 left on a layup from Ortiz. Middlebury ended the opening quarter with a 15-3 run, grabbing a 23-8 edge on a jumper from Ivy Houde with 47 seconds left.

In the second stanza, Lasell chipped away at the lead, moving to within 29-18 on a three-point field goal by Muir with 6:22 showing on the clock. The Panthers tallied the next six points on three layups by Kira Waldman. After the visitors pulled to within 35-21 on an old-fashioned three-point play from Ortiz with 4:29 left, Middlebury ended the quarter on a 6-1 run for a 41-22 halftime edge.

Out of the halftime break, the Panthers slowly increased their lead to as many as 25 (59-34) on a free throw by Betsy Knox with 1:10 left in the quarter. The final stanza saw the Panthers maintain their double-digit lead, cruising to the 81-43 victory.

(Courtesy of Middlebury Athletic Communications)

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