Middlebury, VT - The Northern Vermont University-Lyndon women's basketball team returned to action for the first time in nearly three weeks on Tuesday evening.  The return wasn't what the Hornets hoped for, as Middlebury College overwhelmed Lyndon from the start and cruised to an 86-38 victory.  Middlebury improves to 3-2 with the win, while Lyndon drops their first game of the season in falling to 3-1.

After Sage Smith (Colebrook, NH) scored the first basket of the game, the Panthers outscored the Hornets 18-2 over the next seven minutes to take command and never look back.  Middlebury extended their advantage to 26-9 after one quarter, 46-19 at halftime, and 67-30 after three.

The hosts shot 54.5% from the floor (36/66), while the Hornets only converted 31.4% (16/51) of their shots.  Middlebury also owned a 44-21 rebounding advantage and committed onlynine turnovers to 23 for the Hornets.

Alexa Mustafaj topped five double figure scorers for the Panthers, finishing with 27 points on 12/14 shooting.  Emily Downer, Claire Miller, Bethany Lucey, and Augusta Dixon also contributed to a balanced Middlebury attack, scoring 13, 12, 11, and 10 points respectively.  Gianna Palli didn't score for the Panthers, but posted game highs of 11 rebounds and nine assists.  Lea Crompton (Dunbarton, NH) was Lyndon's only double figure scorer, recording 13 points.

The Hornets will open North Atlantic Conference play on Saturday afternoon when they travel to the University of Maine at Farmington for a 4:00 pm tip-off.