Women's Basketball Earns Bid to NESCAC Tournament with Win over Middlebury
Hartford, Conn. - Trinity sophomore Kaitlin Ciarleglio (Waterbury, Conn.) scored 21 points to lead the Trinity College Bantams to a 65-46 win over the Middlebury College Panthers, as Trinity clinched a spot in the NESCAC Championship Tournament. Trinity improves to 15-7 overall and 3-5 in the league while Middlebury falls to 10-12 (2-6, NESCAC).
With the game tied at 9-9, Middlebury's Leah Kepping knocked down a three to give the Panthers a 12-9 lead at the 14:49 mark. Trinity answered with a 15-3 run over the next 6:15 to take a 24-15 advantage with 7:46 remaining in the first half. Ciarleglio scored eight of her game-high 21 points during the run for the Bantams. Middlebury's Kaitlyn Fallon scored six of the game's next eight points to cut the lead to 26-21 at the 5:37 mark. A hoop from Elissa Goeke cut the lead to three, before Trinity closed the half on a 7-0 run to take a 33-23 lead into the break.
Despite holding Middlebury without a field goal for the first 5:17 of the second half, Trinity's lead stood at 38-27 with 14:42 remaining. The Bantams slowed extended their advantage, holding a game-high 22-point lead on a pair of free throws from senior Christine Card (Waterbury, Conn.) with 3:49 remaining. Neither team scored in the final 1:20, leaving the Bantams with the 65-46 victory.
Along with her 21 points on 9 of 10 shooting, Ciarleglio added five rebounds, four steals, three assists and two blocks in the win. Senior Claire Arnstein (Hicksville, N.Y.) added 13 points, while Card scored a dozen with eight boards. Kaitlyn Fallon paced the Panthers with 16 points on 8 of 14 shooting from the floor. Lauren Sanchez added 15 points on 11-11 shooting from the free throw line and four steals.
Trinity hosts Williams at 2 p.m. in both teams final contest of the regular season.
