Box Score NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The number two-seeded Norwich University women's basketball team dropped a hard-fought 74-65 decision to Johnson & Wales University tonight in the semifinals of the 2015 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament inside Andrews Gymnasium.
Johnson & Wales (18-9) advances to play Emmanuel College in the GNAC championship game Saturday afternoon. Norwich's only chance for its season to continue will be if it receives an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III National Championships or will participate in the ECAC Division III New England Championships, which both will be announced next Monday, March 2.
The Wildcats jumped out to a 17-3 lead in the first six minutes of the game before senior Aliah Curry (Windsor, Mass.), who was named to the GNAC All-Tournament Team, made a long shot from beyond the arc followed up with a layup from sophomore forward Heather LeBlanc (Sanford, Maine) to stop the bleeding with the Cadets trailing 17-8 at the 12:56 mark.
Johnson & Wales continued its strong offensive attack with a 9-1 run in the next four minutes to extend the lead to 26-9 with just under nine minutes remaining in the frame. Norwich responded with a run of its own that saw a trio of treys from Curry, sophomore Kayla Mercer (New Britian, Conn.) and senior Kelsey Lotti (South Yarmouth, Mass.) before Curry closed out the 13-4 run with a layup as the Cadets trailed by just eight points with 3:36 remaining in the half.
The Wildcats extended the lead into double digits before the break as both teams headed into the locker rooms with the Cadets trailing 38-26.
Johnson & Wales continued its strong offensive attack to open the second half with a 12-2 run for the 50-28 score in just four minutes into the frame. Trailing 66-53 at the 5:26 mark, the Cadets marched their way back into the contest as Curry scored six of the 10 points, including a three-pointer, to cut the deficit down to just eight points for the 68-60 score with 3:30 remaining in the game.
The momentum quickly evaporated as the Cadets struggled to maintain possession, turning the ball over twice and missing several baskets, and was forced to foul in the final minutes as the Wildcats hit six of the seven free throws for the 74-65 win.
Overall, Norwich finished the night hitting 37.3 percent from the floor to Johnson & Wales' 36.9 percent. The Cadets would score 24 points off of the 16 Wildcats turnovers. In the end, it came down the three-pointers and free throws as the Cadets shot just 36.8 percent from beyond the arc and 73.7 percent from the stripe, while Johnson & Wales shot 42.1 percent from the three-point line and 78.3 percent from the charity stripe.
Curry finished the game with a team-high 26 points and seven rebounds with five assists. LeBlanc had 18 points and 10 rebounds for her 10th double-double of the season. Freshman forward Arianna Harrison posted 11 points and seven rebounds after hitting 3-of-6 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line.
For Johnson & Wales, sophomore guard Bobbie Whitehead posted a team-high 20 points and 13 rebounds. Freshman center Ashley Thompson netted 17 points, while freshman guard Raquel Pederzani added 15 and dished out three assists and made four steals.
