MIDDLEBURY, Vt.—Senior Kathleen Murphy (Scarborough, Maine) made a career-high 15 saves but No. 14 IWLCA/No. 18 USA Lacrosse Babson College suffered a 17-6 loss at No. 1 USILA/No. 1 USA Lacrosse Middlebury College in non-conference women's lacrosse action on Tuesday evening at Peter Kohn Field. 

Babson opens its season at 0-1, while Middlebury, which has claimed three straight Division III national titles, is now 2-0. 

Senior Kathryn Blake (Medfield, Mass.) scored twice, classmate Amelia Novitch (Dover, Mass.) recorded a goal and an assist, and graduate student Ellie Hilsabeck (Hingham, Mass.) and seniors Clare Connolly (Hanover, Mass.) and Jessica Evans (Southbury, Conn.) each scored once for the Beavers. Connolly led all players with six draw controls, senior Cameron Rabenold (Cincinnati, Ohio) had two caused turnovers and Murphy scooped up a game-high four ground balls in the loss. 

Senior Hope Shue (Dover, Mass.) led all players with four goals and two assists for six points, junior Skylar Lach (Washington, D.C.) scored three times and junior Caroline Adams (Norwich, Vt.) and senior Burdine Atherton (Oakland, Calif.) both contributed a goal and three assists for the Panthers. Adams also finished with four draws, sophomore Kate Motley (McLean, Va.) had two caused turnovers and senior Gina Driscoll (Orange, Conn.) finished with three of the team's six saves in the win. 

Lach scored three times and Adams produced a goal and two assists to help Middlebury build a 7-1 lead with 2:54 to go in the first quarter. Murphy made four of her eight second-quarter saves over the first four minutes of the stanza before first-year Siobahn Colin (Canton, Mass.) scored to make it 8-1 at the 8:59 mark. 

Connolly won the ensuing draw and Novitch set up Blake's first goal 37 seconds later, but the Panthers followed with a five-goal run that included three straight tallies by Shue for a 13-2 advantage at halftime. 

Evans countered back-to-back goals by senior Anna Spehr (Lloyd Harbor, N.Y.) with her first marker of the season with 9:44 to go in the third, and Blake, Connolly and Hilsabeck tallied in the fourth quarter for the Green and White.

The Beavers were successful on 9-of-10 clears and converted 3-of-5 free-position chances in the contest. Middlebury outshot Babson 38-16 and held an 18-13 edge in ground balls and a slim 14-12 margin in draw controls. 

Babson returns to action on March 15 when it hosts Coast Guard at 1 p.m., while Middlebury travels to Bowdoin on Saturday for a 12 p.m. start. 

GAME NOTES
•    The Beavers are 1-7 all-time against Middlebury. 
•    Murphy's 15 saves, 14 of which came in the first half, surpassed her previous career high of 14 set against Wesleyan in 2023 and matched last season in an NCAA Tournament second round win over Stevens. 
•    Connolly now has recorded at least five draw controls in 28 consecutive games, while Evans extended her goal streak to 28 straight outings on Tuesday. 
•    Novitch has at least one point in 14 straight contests and at least one goal in her last eight games.