DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—The Norwich University women's basketball team snapped a five-game slide by downing the Cougars of Averett University 67-63 at the Land of Magic Tournament hosted by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University on Saturday morning.

With the win, the Cadets improve to 5-6, while the loss drops the Cougars to 1-7. 

After boasting a four-point edge throughout the opening minutes of the game, Norwich rescinded the early lead on a made free throw by Averett's Jessica Myers with 11:28 to play.  At the 8:48 mark, sophomore guard Aliah Curry (Windsor, Mass.) connected on a three-point basket to set the score at 18-15 and forcing Averett to take a timeout. Junior Kristine Brammer (Littleton, N.H.) would connect on the front end of two free-throws to bring the score to 16-16 with 7:19 to play, and Curry would knot the score again at 18 apiece a minute later.

The teams would trade leads for the remainder of the half, and following another tie at 27-27 with one minute to play, Averett's Aundrea Burns would hit a three-pointer to give the Cougars the 30-27 halftime lead.

In the second half, the Cadets would waste no time overcoming the halftime deficit, and reclaimed the lead at 35-34 on a layup by senior Jessalyn Sweeney (Stanfordsville, N.Y.) with 16:22 left in the half. The Cadets would hold the lead until the 2:49, when the Cougars evened the score at 59-59. 

Junior Kristin Brown (Williamstown, Vt.) would connect on a three-pointer on the next trip down to extend the Cadets' lead back to three points, but the Cougars answered with a layup on their next possession to cut the lead back to one point.

With 1:42 left to play, Sweeney would notch a layup and get fouled on the play.  She hit her free-throw to convert the old-fashioned three-point play and give the Cadets a four-point edge at 65-61. The Cougars were forced to foul in the final minutes of the game, allowing the Cadets the opportunity to clinch the 67-63 victory.

Curry was an offensive powerhouse for the Cadets, totaling a game-high 27 points in addition to six rebounds and two assists.  Sweeney scored 17 points and added 12 rebounds to notch the double-double, while Brammer and freshman Riley Blankenship (Lyndonville, Vt.) both aided the offense with seven points apiece.

The Cadets shot 40 percent from the floor, including 48 percent shooting in the second half.  Averett was held to 33 percent shooting.

Leading the way for the Cougars was Myers and Shannon Smith, who contributed 13 and 11 points off the bench, respectively. Caroline Young led the Cougars on the boards with nine rebounds.

Norwich returns to action on January 5, 2013 when they host Saint Joseph's (Maine) in the first Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) matchup of the season.