BOSTON, Mass. – On Tuesday evening, the Norwich University women's basketball team was making its case for a David vs. Goliath outcome as the #8 Cadets battled hard against #1 seeded Emmanuel College in one of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Quarterfinal games. Although the Cadets held close in the early part of the third quarter, the Saints had too much firepower outlasting Norwich 65-39 at Andy Yosinoff Court.

Both offenses struggled in the early going with just three points being scored in the opening five minutes of action. Emmanuel was the first to break out of its shooting funk stringing together seven-straight points to take the early lead, 7-0.

Norwich responded with a 5-0 run capped by an and-one from junior forward Kailynne Frederick (Adams, Mass.) to reduce the hosts' lead to 7-5 with 3:18 left in the opening frame.

The Saints took an 11-7 lead into the second half after junior guard Julia Vigorito (Malden, Mass.) had a wide-open three-pointer rattle in and out near the end of the quarter.

After the teams traded baskets to start the second, senior forward KristieAnn DeSilvio (Chelmsford, Mass.) hit a curling Caileigh Travers (Cottage Valley, N.Y.) in the lane for an easy layup to make it 15-10 Saints.

From there, the home-siders ran out to a 25-10 lead thanks to a 10-0 run over the span of just under five minutes.

Junior guard Emily Schromm (North Attleboro, Mass.) helped the Cadets trim the lead making a nice dish in transition after beating the Saints' press to find Frederick for an open jumper. She then hit a teardrop floater in the lane on the team's next possession to reduce the lead to 25-14. The Saints converted a pair of free throws while Norwich hit one freebie to send the teams into the break with the hosts leading 27-15.

Norwich held the GNAC's second-ranked offense to just 29.7 percent from the field and beat the Saints at their own game by forcing 15 turnovers. Unfortunately, the Cadets turned over the ball 14 times themselves which led to 16 points for the Saints.  

Yuleska Ramirez-Tejeda scored 8 of the Saints' first 11 points. Both teams struggled from downtown in the opening half with each registering an 0-for-9 mark from beyond the arc.

Norwich made a run to start the second half, stopping a driving layup by the Saints then hitting back-to-back three-pointers from DeSilvio and junior guard Riley Bennett (Hopkinton, N.H.) to make it 27-23 in favor of the Saints. Schromm followed that with a layup to cut the lead to 29-25 with 7:26 to play in the third.

The rest of the third belonged to Emmanuel as the hosts held Norwich to just five additional points while amassing 14 points to open up a 12-point lead at 43-33 heading into the final quarter.

Norwich continued to get initial stops on defense, but the rebounding tenacity of the Saints' frontcourt generated several second-chance buckets and the hosts continued to build on their lead opening up a 20-point lead, 57-37, following an and-one by Kayla Weaver at the 4:23 mark.

The Saints continued to pull away down the stretch outscoring the Cadets 22-6 overall in the fourth quarter.

Emmanuel shot 46 percent from the field in the second half while the Cadets hit their attempts at a 43 percent clip. Overall, the hosts gained a major advantage on the boards outrebounding the Cadets 50-36. The Saints doubled the Cadets on points in the paint outscoring the visitors 32-14 thanks primarily to 16 second-chance points off of 22 offensive rebounds.

Norwich was led by Frederick who nearly posted her seventh double-double of the season with 12 points and 9 rebounds. DeSilvio was the only other Cadet in double-figure scoring notching 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting. Schromm was active all over the court for Norwich collecting five points, seven rebounds, three assists, and four steals. Travers led the reserves with six points and four boards.

Emmanuel was powered by two players, Ramirez-Tejeda and Kayla Weaver. Ramirez-Tejeda notched a double-double with 21 points and 17 rebounds while Weaver cashed in 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting while adding six rebounds and three steals.