LEWISTON, Maine – Senior Kayla Mercer (New Britain, Conn.) led the Norwich University women's basketball team with 15 points as her team posted a 92-58 loss to No. 19-ranked Bowdoin College in the final game of the Marsha Graef Memorial Classic on Saturday. The Cadets dip to 1-2 on the year while Bowdoin secured the win in its first game of the season. 

Mercer rebounded from Friday's contest with a career-high five three-point baskets, shooting 5-for-9 from the floor while posting two steals and as many assists. Senior Heather LeBlanc (Sanford, Maine), who scored her 1,000th career point last evening, struck for 14 points after making 8-of-10 free throws. 

Junior Arianna Harrison (Vernon, Vt.) assisted five of her team's 17 made baskets on Saturday while scoring 12 points for the Cadets. Junior Shyann Josler (Thetford Center, Vt.) also helped the Norwich offense in the tilt, earning four assists. 

Norwich built up two separate three-point leads in the game's first three minutes, but back-to-back three-pointers by Bowdoin would create strong momentum for the Polar Bears. The Cadets would tie the score at 15 with 1:02 to go in the first stanza, but six-straight points by Bowdoin would create a 21-15 lead. 

The Cadets would shoot nearly 50% in the second quarter, but the Bowdoin offense exploded and made 12-of-16 shots that included seven three-point baskets. The 35-point second quarter would stake the Polar Bears to a convincing 56-31 lead with 46 of their points coming from reserves. 

Norwich would outshoot Bowdoin in the second half (43.8%-to-29.7%), but the second quarter damage proved too significant to overcome. 

Lauren Petit scored 17 points in only 16 minutes, leading Bowdoin off the bench. Ally Silfen pulled down four rebounds while Maddie Hasson posted six takeaways. 

The Cadets return to action Tuesday, Nov. 29, hosting Rivier to open Great Northeast Athletic Conference play with a 5:30 p.m. tilt in Andrews Hall.

NOTES: The tournament, jointly hosted by Bates and Bowdoin, is named for Marsha Graef, a Professor Emerita of Physical Education, coach and administrator in the Bates College Department of Athletics for nearly 30 years, who died on Nov. 16, 2015, at age 61, after a nearly three-year battle with pancreatic cancer.