THE SERIES
The game marks the eighth meeting between the two programs, dating back to the first contest in 2006 - a 54-43 Middlebury victory.
LAST MEETING
Junior guard
Jade Chihara (Lahaina, Hawaii/Lahainaluna) scored a season-high nine points to go along with four rebounds and two steals in the Pioneers 70-57 loss at Middlebury on January 19, 2016.
LAST SMITH WIN
Smith avenged an early season loss, defeating the Panthers, 65-59 on January 20, 2015. First-year
Samantha Alakai (Honolulu, Hawaii/Punahou School) paced the hosts with a team-high 15 points on 4-for-11 shooting from the field (6-for-7 FT), six rebounds, one block and one steal.
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Middlebury (8-1) enters Tuesday's contest on a five game win streak after their 52-47 victory over Roger Williams on Saturday. The Panthers outscored RWU by a 16-5 count over the final 5:07 to capture the Hampton Inn West Springfield/Naismith Classic hosted by Springfield. Middlebury's Sarah Kaufman was selected as the tournament's Most Valuable Player, finishing the two contests with 35 points, including a season-best 21 in the championship game. Colleen Caveney (32 points, nine rebounds, six steals), who tallied 25 points in Friday's victory over Springfield, also earned a spot on the all-tournament team for her effort during the two games. Middlebury returns all four of its top scorers and three of the top-four rebounders from a season ago. Included in both of the aforementioned lists is sophomore center Catherine Harrison, the 2016 NESCAC Rookie of the Year. In the paint last winter, she averaged a double-double consisting of 11.3 points and 11.0 boards per game for the Panthers, while shooting 50.0 percent (115-230) from the floor. The Panthers welcome five first-year players who will battle for playing time in 2016-17. Caveney leads the team with 12.9 points per game while Alex Huffman grabs 7.3 boards per game. The offense averages 58.7 points per contest.
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Smith (7-3) enters Tuesday's game after their 66-25 win over Salve Regina University on Friday
. In that game, sophomore
Kennedy Guest-Pritchett (Fairburn, Ga./The Lawrenceville School) produced her fifth double-double of the season with 15 points and 16 rebounds. The Smith defense held Salve Regina to under 20 percent shooting from the field (10-56" 17.9 percent) and the Seahawks had their lowest offensive output in the history of the program. Guest-Pritchett ranks in the top-6 of the NEWMAC in points per game (14.6) and rebounds per game (11.4) and was named to the New England Women's Basketball Association (NEWBA) Honor Roll on Monday. Sophomore guard
Erin Hanley (San Francisco, Calif./St. Ignatius College Prepatory) averages 11.7 points, 6.3 rebounds per game while Castro leads the team with 2.9 assists. Smith welcomes sophomore transfer
Stephanie Foukaris (Nicosia, Cyprus/Pascal English School Nicosia) who played her freshman year at UMass Amherst during the 2015-16 season. The Pioneers have the league's fourth-highest scoring offense averaging 68.7 points per game while the defense allows 51.0 points per contest.
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