NORTHFIELD, Vt.—The Norwich University women's basketball team dropped its first Great Northeast Athletic Conference matchup of the season, falling 71-48 to Saint Joseph's College (Maine) on Saturday afternoon in Andrews Hall. 

With the loss, the Cadets fall to 5-7 overall and 0-1 in GNAC action, while the win boosts the visiting Monks to 7-5 overall and 1-0 in league play.

Seven different players scored for St. Joseph's in the first half, including Lindsay Moore, who led all scorers with 14 first-half points.  The lead would change hands three times in the half, as the Monks controlled the lead in the opening minutes of the game by scoring the first five points of the game.

Norwich would respond with five points of their own to tie, and then took their own five-point lead at 10-5 with 16 minutes left in the half.  The Monks would outscore the Cadets 6-1 in the next two minutes to tie the score at 11 apiece with just under 14 minutes to play. From there, the Monks would not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the game, extending their first half lead 40-24 on a layup by Moore with as time expired.

The Monks shot 54.8 percent in the first half while holding the Cadets to 25 percent shooting.

St. Joseph's capitalized on 40.9 percent shooting from the floor and 10-17 shooting from the free-throw line to extend their lead in the second half.  Norwich connected on 11 of 28 attempts from the floor in the second half, but shot 0-for-5 from three-point range.

The Cadets were led by Jessalyn Sweeney (Standfordville, N.Y.), who scored a team-high 14 points in addition to adding six rebounds and five steals. Kristin Brown (Williamstown, Vt.) aided the Cadets with 12 points and three rebounds.  Aliah Curry (Windsor, Mass.) rounded out the top scorers for Norwich with nine points.

Moore totaled 18 points for the Monks and added 11 rebounds to notch the double-double. Mackenzie Dufour  and Danyelle Shufelt contributed 10 points apiece, while Dufour and Sarah Assante both dished out four assists.

Norwich returns to action on Tuesday, Jan. 8 when it travels to SUNY Plattsburgh for a 6:00 p.m. non-conference matchup.  The Monks are idle until next Saturday when they travel to Rivier for a 3:00 p.m. GNAC tilt.