STANDISH, Maine – Senior Heather LeBlanc (Sanford, Maine) picked up a double-double for the Norwich University women's basketball team on Saturday as the Cadets were defeated by Saint Joseph's (Maine) College. 

Falling by a 51-44 score, Norwich dips to 6-4 overall and to 2-1 within the Great Northeast Athletic Conference. The Monks move to 9-2 on the year while remaining undefeated across three league tilts – since the very first tilt between the two teams on Feb. 5, 1993, Saint Joseph's holds the 17-7 all-time advantage over Norwich. 

LeBlanc notched her fourth double-double of the season, scoring 16 points and adding 11 rebounds to lead the Cadets in both categories. Junior Shyann Josler (Thetford Center, Vt.) notched five of her team's 10 assists while sophomore Vanessa Fleury (Lebanon, N.H.) posted six points and six rebounds across 20 minutes off the bench. 

Norwich trailed by 10 points, 18-8, with only 2:04 left in the first period, but following a quick timeout called by Head Coach Mark Zacher, the Cadets rebounded to tie the score at 24 by using a 12-0 run that spanned the first half's final 5:58. During that stretch, LeBlanc scored six of her team's points while senior Kayla Mercer (New Britain, Conn.) made a huge trey to help stoke the momentum. 

The Cadets briefly owned a 28-24 lead in the third quarter, extending its scoring run between quarters to 16-straight points, but with the score tied at 35 after a triple from Josler, a quick seven-point run by the home team created a 42-35 hole for Norwich. 

Kelsi McNamara, her team's leader in point scoring on the afternoon, pounded home a three-point basket in the fourth quarter to grow her team's lead to a game-high 13 points, 50-37, with 6:05 left in regulation time. Norwich would counter with five-straight points across the next two minutes, but the damage had been done. 

McNamara finished with 16 points while Emily Benway scored 12 points and added 11 rebounds. Hannah Marks scored 10 points in 20 minutes off the bench for the Monks, who forced Norwich into 18 turnovers while committing only 10 of their own. Both teams shot under 33.3% as Norwich made only 15 of its 53 shot attempts (28.3%). 

The Cadets will travel to Connecticut for a 5 p.m. showdown with Albertus Magnus College on Tuesday, Jan. 10.