NORTHFIELD, Vt. – Senior Kayla Mercer (New Britain, Conn.) racked up 15 points and a career-high 14 rebounds to propel the Norwich University women's basketball team to a 63-49 win over visiting Rivier University on Tuesday. 

The Cadets even their overall record at 2-2 while picking up a win in the first Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest of the season. Rivier dips to 1-4 overall and to 0-1 within league play. Norwich has now won 23 of the 27 all-time games played between the two programs. 

Senior Heather LeBlanc (Sanford, Maine) cashed in with a team-leading 18 points on the day, adding seven rebounds after shooting 9-for-11 from the floor. Junior Arianna Harrison (Vernon, Vt.) also posted double-digit points, pouring home 12 while leading the team with seven assists. Mercer also added four assists to help the Cadets to the victory. 

The offense came slowly for both teams as neither team scored until 3:26 into the contest. From there, however, the Cadets opened up a five-point lead after a trey from junior Shyann Josler (Thetford Center, Vt.) and a made layup in the paint by Harrison propelled Norwich in front. The hosts' lead bulged to 15-2 following a LeBlanc layup with 2:39 to go in the opening quarter. 

Leading 17-6 after the first 10 minutes, Norwich posted two separate 14-point leads and carried that advantage into the locker room at halftime following a Harrison three-point basket with 21 seconds remaining in the second quarter. The Cadets defense stood tall in the opening half, yielding only six made baskets on 27 shots to Rivier while capitalizing on their own attempts from the field (13-for-31, 41.9%). 

Norwich captured a 23-point lead with 6:31 to go in the third quarter as a Mercer layup in the paint created the sizeable advantage. Rivier would cut the Cadets' lead to 12 points on two separate occasions in the fourth quarter, but the first half scoring output by Norwich created insurance against the Raiders' comeback. 

The Cadets scored 36 points in the paint while limiting Rivier to only 22 points underneath the basket. As a team, Norwich posted 51 total rebounds which is the most in a single game since posting 61 last season against St. Joseph (Conn.) on Jan. 27, 2016. 

Kaylee Kacavas led Rivier with 16 points while Savanna Butterfield posted 11 points and as many rebounds, leading the squad in the latter category. 

Norwich returns to action Friday, Dec. 2 as it hosts Me.-Augusta to open the 20th-annual Ed Hockenbury Classic at Andrews Hall. The opening tip is slated for 6 p.m.