NORTHFIELD, Vt. - Kayleigh Shappy led five Cadets in double figures with a team-high 15 points as the Norwich University women's basketball team defeated visiting Rivier, 71-64, in a GNAC contest Thursday evening at Andrews Hall. It marked the fifth straight win for the Cadets, who rallied from a three-point halftime deficit.

Shappy added six rebounds and a game-high six assists to pace the Cadets' offense. Kylie Cowens added 13 points for Norwich, while Christine Daniels and Laural McWilliams each netted 12 apiece. Ally Daniels notched her fourth double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Norwich (10-13, 9-3 GNAC) outscored Rivier 19-6 over the first seven minutes of the second half to take a 49-39 lead at the 12:35 mark, and the Cadets never trailed again.

Rivier (12-12, 6-6 GNAC) trimmed NU's lead down to one point at 51-50 with 8:38 to play following an 11-2 run, but a lay-up by Williams, a jumper from Ally Daniels and a triple by Cowens boosted the Cadets' advantage back up to eight points at 58-50 just two minutes later and they held off the Raiders down the stretch to earn the key conference victory.

Rivier jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead on a pair of Monica White three-pointers within the first 90 seconds of action. After a timeout, Norwich stormed back with nine straight points to take its first lead of the game. Shappy nailed two triples to spur the rally, which gave the Cadets a 9-6 advantage at the 14:39 mark. A 10-2 spurt by Rivier helped the Raiders open a 16-11 lead midway through the opening stanza, but seven unanswered NU points put the Cadets back on top, 18-16, with 8:29 showing on the first half clock.

After a three-pointer put Rivier in front, 19-18, Norwich reeled off six consecutive points to take its largest lead of the half at 24-19 with 6:20 to play before intermission. The Raiders responded with a 14-4 burst over the next five minutes to take a 33-28 lead, and they led 33-30 at halftime.

Jessica Mellen led Rivier with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Justine Nims also collected 16 points. Blair Carpenter added 13 points and White finished with 11. Sadie Hardiman ripped down a game-high 14 rebounds.

Each team shot under 40 percent for the game with Norwich hitting just 37.5 percent of its field goal attempts and Rivier converting only 38.3 percent of its shots. Rivier committed 26 turnovers, while Norwich turned the ball over 17 times. The Raiders outrebounded the Cadets, 46-44.

Norwich closes out its regular season schedule on Saturday, Feb. 23, when the Cadets host GNAC opponent Simmons at Andrews Hall at 1 p.m.