Connecticut College Sports Roundup

The number 72 was the game winner in both Connecticut College basketball games against Middlebury College on Friday, with the women's team picking up a win and the men's team falling short. In hockey games, the women's team fought to a tie against Colby College while Hamilton College defeated the men's team. The following information was provided by William Tomasian, sports information director at Connecticut College:

Women's Basketball: Conn College 72, Middlebury 59

Senior Jenn Shinall (Redding, Conn.) netted 13 points and pulled down nine rebounds to lead the Connecticut College women's basketball team to a 72-59 victory against Middlebury College at Luce Field House Friday.

The Camels improve to 11-2 with a 2-1 mark in the NESCAC, while the Panthers fall to 3-9 and 0-3 in the conference with their sixth straight setback.

Tara Gabelman (Irvington, N.Y.) and Carlee Smith (Willimantic, Conn.) chipped in with 11 points each for the Camels.

Gabelman shot 4-for-7 from the field, while Smith dished out a game-high six assists in the triumph.

Jocelyn Summers (Highland Park, N.J.) contributed nine points and four assists. Annie Fierberg (Watertown, Conn.) provided 11 quality minutes of post play, tallying six points and five rebounds for the Camels.

Senior Kim Horne (Newport, N.H.) finished with six points and six rebounds for the winning side.

Tracy Borsinger (Chatham, N.J.) poured in a game-high 17 points to lead the visiting Panthers in the setback. Maddie Moreau (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.) chipped in with 11 points and four rebounds for Middlebury.

Summers stepped off the bench to key a12-to-0 run in the first half. Summers buried a three with 7:19 to go and then assisted Kacie Quick (Winchester, Mass.) for a hoop with 6:24 remaining that vaulted the Camels out to a 21-9 advantage.

Later on in the half, Shinall knocked down threes on consecutive possessions to put Connecticut College on top 29-16.

On the ensuing Panther possession, Summers stole the ball and drove the lane for a hoop to put the Camels in complete command with a 31-16 edge.

The hosts carried a 33-20 advantage into the break.

After sitting most of the first half with foul trouble, Gabelman sparked the Camels in the second stanza, scoring all of her 11 points in the closing 20 minutes of play.

Middlebury rallied with a 12-to-4 run in the early stages of the second half. Borsinger had the hot hand and buried a three from the top of the key with 14:19 to play that made it a 41-34 game.

However, the visitors would not get any closer and the Camels shot a much more efficient 48% in the second stanza to pull away for the 72-59 win.

The Camels will host 18th ranked Williams College for a 2:00 p.m. game in New London Saturday. The Panthers will visit Wesleyan for a 2:00 p.m. conference contest in Middletown, Conn.

Brian Wilson, the head coach of the Connecticut College women's basketball team, said in a post-game conference call:

This was a complete team effort tonight. We received huge contributions off the bench from Annie Fierberg and Kim Horne in the frontcourt and Kacie Quick and Jocelyn Summers in the backcourt.

Losing Tara Gabelman to foul trouble so quickly in the first half could have been debilitating if Annie and Kim were not ready to come in and contribute on both ends. Kacie was her usual steady self off the bench and Jocelyn gave us 25 minutes of almost flawless play.

Jennifer Shinall played a tremendous game on both ends of the floor. Her three point shooting helped carry us offensively, especially in the first half when we extended our lead, and her five offensive rebounds reflect her competitiveness and will to win.

Carlee Smith gave us another fantastic effort at the point guard position. Her transition from high school off-guard to NESCAC point guard has been amazing to see. We are so much more fluid and confident on offense with the ball in Carlee's hands.

Men's Basketball: Middlebury 72, Conn College 56

Connecticut College battled back from a 13 point deficit to pull to within three points with top ranked Middlebury College but it was not enough as the Panthers prevailed with their 13th straight win (3-0 NESCAC) in a 72-56 triumph.

Junior guard Jake Wolfin (Woodcliff Lake, N.J.) poured in a game-high 21 points, all coming from beyond the arc (7-for-8). Ryan Sharry (Braintree, Mass.) chipped in with 18 points and 11 boards in a 7-for-10 shooting performance.

Matt Vadas (Spring Lake Heights, N.J.) dumped in 15 points to lead the Camels. Mason Lopez (Hoboken, N.J.) chipped in with 14 points and Boris Jeremic (Rijeka, Croatia) reached double digits with 10 for Connecticut College (5-9, 0-3).

"Middlebury is excellent and well deserving of their top ranking," Connecticut College Head Men's Basketball Coach Tom Satran said. "I thought our guys gave a good effort but we couldn't get over the top although we had a few chances in the second half."

The Camels did a nice job, mixing defensive looks and after trailing by as many as 13 points, cut the deficit to 59-56 when Bryan Gross (Great Falls, Va.) netted a three-ball from the right side with 7:09 to go. The Panthers promptly pushed the lead back to six, but Jeremic answered with another Camel triple to make it a 59-56 contest with 4:59 remaining.

However, Wolfin continued to carry the hot hand for the Panthers and the junior sharp-shooter buried three more treys in the closing moments to help the visitors close out the 72-56 triumph. Satran and the Camels will host 14th ranked Williams College Saturday for a 4:00 p.m. game in New London.

The Panthers will visit Wesleyan University for a 4:00 p.m. conference tilt in Middletown, Conn.

Women's Ice Hockey: Conn College 1, Colby 1

Annie Papadellis (Hopkinton, Mass.) scored in the second period for Colby College and Andrea McRae (Stittsville, Ontario) tallied for Connecticut College in the first period as the two women's hockey teams played to a 1-1 overtime tie on Friday night at Alfond Rink.

Colby moves to 4-7-2 overall and 1-5-1 in the NESCAC, while Connecticut College is 4-5-2 overall and 2-4-1 in the league.

Brianne Wheeler (Brussels, Ontario) stopped 43 shots in goal for Colby. Meanwhile, Camel goaltender Amy Leichliter (West Chester, Pa.) had 27 saves.

McRae scored off the power play at 15:48 of the opening period, while Papadellis also tallied on the power play at 2:58 of the second period.

The Camels had a 44-28 advantage in shots, but Colby had the lone four shots in overtime.

Men's Ice Hockey: Hamilton 4, Conn College 1

Hamilton College scored twice in each of the final two periods to pull away for a 4-1 victory at Connecticut College Friday night.

The Continentals improve to 7-5-1 with a 3-5 mark in the NESCAC, while the Camels fall to 4-8-1 with a 2-5 record in conference action.

Junior forward Anthony Ruberto (Stoney Creek, Ontario) tallied a goal and an assist to lead the visitors. Phil DiDonato (Gibsonia, Pa.) chipped in with two assists for the Continetnals.

Sophomore Joe Quattrocchi (Kanata, Ontario) finished with 28 saves in the victory for Hamilton.

The Camels goal occurred at 3:43 of the second period. Will Einstein (New Canaan, Conn.) potted his second goal of the season with assists coming from Zach Jones (Gibsonia, Pa.) and Marc Roper (Moncton, New Brunswick).

Senior Andrew Margolin (Mahwah, N.J.) stopped 27 shots for the hosts.

Connecticut College will host Amherst College Saturday for a 3:00 p.m. game in New London.

The Continentals will visit Tufts for a 3:00 p.m. NESCAC tilt in Malden, Mass.