STANDISH, Maine – The Norwich University women's basketball team lost on the road Saturday in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action at Saint Joseph's College of Maine (SJCM) by a score of 70-62.

The loss drops Norwich to 13-10 overall and 5-5 in league play, while Saint Joseph's improves to 18-5 on the year and 8-1 in the conference.

All five Cadet starters scored in double digits with sophomore guard Shyann Josler (Thetford, Vt.) leading the team with 13 points and six assists. Sophomore guard Arianna Harrison (Vernon, Vt.) and junior forward Heather LeBlanc (Sanford, Maine) each posted 11 points with LeBlanc pulling down 13 rebounds for a double double. Junior Kayla Mercer (New Britain Conn.) and freshman Vanessa Fleury (Lebanon, N.H.) scored 11 and 10 points, respectively, to round out the starters for the Maroon & Gold.

Freshman guard Kelsi McNamara (West Newbury, Mass.) led the Monks in scoring a team-high 20 points along with 11 assists for a double double, while senior Morgan Cahill (Yarmouth, Maine) and junior Emily Kehoe (Perkinsville, Vt.) posted 13 points each.

Both teams battled in a back-and-forth contest with the Monks leading 33-32 at the break. The game saw seven lead changes in the first 30 minutes of action heading into the fourth quarter. Saint Joseph's opened the quarter with a 13-0 run in the first three minutes to expand its lead, 58-47. Norwich responded with a trey from Josler and a layup by Fleury, only to watch the Monks get ahead with a 13 point lead, the largest margin in the game, at the 6:04 mark.

Norwich rallied down the stretch with a 5-0 run to trail by four, 66-62, with 1:11 remaining in the game. The Monks would put the game out of reach in the final minute with a Cahill jumper before junior Molly Mack (Portland, Maine) made both shots from the charity stripe for the final score, 70-62.

Norwich shot 34.4 percent (21-61) from the floor and 32 percent (8-25) from the deep end along with the 12-of-15 shots from the free throw line. Saint Joseph's College of Maine would finish the day hitting 45.5 percent (25-55) from the field and hit 10-of-18 (55.6 percent) from beyond the arc, while making 10-of-17 (58.8 percent) from the line. Both teams were balanced with the Cadets having a slight edge over the Monks on rebounds, 37-34, and scoring 16 points off of turnovers to the Monks' 14. Saint Joseph's College of Maine would get depth from the bench, scoring 21 points and pass the ball around for 20 assists in the win.

Norwich continues the road trip as the Cadets travel to North Adams, Mass. on Tuesday, Feb. 16 for a 5:30 p.m. non-conference matchup against MCLA before closing out the regular season at home against Rivier University on Saturday, Feb. 20 for the 1:00 p.m. conference game.