Women's Basketball Falls to No. 2 Norwich 68-51 in GNAC Quarterfinal

NORTHFIELD, Vt. – Senior guard Aliah Curry scored a game-high 22 points, and sophomore forward Heather LeBlanc registered a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds as the Norwich University women's basketball team breezed past Anna Maria College, 68-51, in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament Quarterfinal game Tuesday evening at Andrews Gymnasium.

Tonight's game marked the first postseason appearance for the Anna Maria women's basketball team since the 2002-03 season. 

Curry scored 16 points in the first half before adding six more after halftime as the Cadets steadily pulled away from the AMCATS. Senior guard Kelsey Lotti added 10 points and pulled down seven rebounds as the Cadets shot 39.3 percent from the field in the contest to overcome 15 turnovers.

Anna Maria and Norwich stayed neck-to-neck for the remainder of the first half until the Cadets extended the lead at the 10:05 mark on layups from Lotti and LeBlanc, before Curry closed out the 5-0 run with a three-pointer to make it 21-12. The AMCATS looked to get back into contention, but were stymied by poor shooting in the frame, hitting just 16.1 percent from the field, as the Curry would close out the half with back-to-back long bombers to extend the Cadets' lead to 16 for the 32-15 score at the break.

The second half was all hustle as Norwich piled on the points as the Cadets would use a 14-2 run midway through the frame for the 48-24 lead at the midway point. The AMCATS looked to rebound quickly from the deficit, but struggled to find the basket, hitting just 34.4 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from the charity stripe in the half. The Cadets would chip in 17 additional points to close out the contest for the 68-51 victory.

Senior guard Katie Pryor (Whitinsville, Mass.) led Anna Maria (10-16) with a team-high 19 points, while classmate Trafficia Warburton (Worcester, Mass.) added 10 points for the AMCATS. Sophomore guard Deja Taitt (Jamaica, N.Y.) and freshman guard Kristina Russo (South Windsor, Conn.) each chipped in eight points.

Norwich held a 50-40 rebounding edge, which led to a 14-10 advantage in second-chance points. The Cadets also had an advantage under the basket, scoring 26 points in the paint. 

Norwich (22-4) advances to the GNAC Tournament Semifinals, where the second-seeded Cadets will host third-seeded Johnson & Wales on Thursday evening. Gametime for the semifinal showdown is set for 7:00 p.m. at Andrews Gymnasium.

Recap courtesy of Norwich Sports Information