NORTHFIELD, Vt. - For the first time since 2015, the Norwich University women's basketball team toppled Saint Joseph's College of Maine, holding off a furious surge to claim a pivotal 70-63 victory in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play on Saturday afternoon inside Andrews Hall.

The win marks Norwich's first over the Monks since a 62-51 triumph on Feb. 7, 2015, in a contest against a Saint Joseph's squad that entered the 2025-26 season as the reigning GNAC runner-up.

Freshman Cassidy Kittredge (Waterford, Vt.) delivered a career-best performance off the bench, pouring in 21 points on 9-14 shooting.  Jessica Zimmerman (Turner, Maine) added 11 points in 24 minutes, while Maggi Ellsworth (West Topsham, Vt.) nearly recorded a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.

The Cadets wasted no time asserting themselves, opening the game on a 5-0 run behind buckets from Kiley O'Brien (Kingston, Mass.).  After the Monks trimmed the gap to one, Norwich roared back with a 10-2 stretch to go up 15-6.  A brief Saint Joseph's push was quickly countered, as five straight Cadet points extended the lead to 20-10.

Norwich continued to surge in the second quarter, outscoring the Monks 16-5 through the first seven minutes and stretching the lead to a game-high 21 points on a Zimmerman three-pointer.  Saint Joseph's clawed the deficit down to 14 late in the half, but layups from Mallorie Chalmers (Milton, Vt.) and O'Brien sent Norwich into the break up by 18.

The Monks came out of halftime with urgency, stringing together an 8-0 run and eventually pulling within single digits at 46-38.  Gracie Laster (Arlington, Va.) halted the momentum with a key bucket, but a second Saint Joseph's run, this time 8-2, made it a four-point game.  A buzzer-beating jumper from O'Brien gave Norwich a 52-46 edge heading into the fourth.

Kittredge stepped up with timely baskets early in the final frame to keep the Cadets in front, but the Monks again chipped away, closing within three.  Norwich responded with an 8-0 run to reestablish control, before Saint Joseph's once again made it interesting by trimming the margin to four with under a minute left.  Zimmerman and Chalmers calmly knocked down free throws in the final seconds to ice the victory.

Norwich held a decisive 31-16 advantage in bench points and edged Saint Joseph's in points in the paint (38-36) and fast break points (14-12).  The Cadets shot a scorching 49.1% from the field while limiting the Monks to just 35.3% shooting.

The Cadets will now take to the road for back-to-back conference games, beginning with a 5:00 p.m. tip-off at Rivier University on Tuesday, Jan. 20.  Norwich will then close the week at Albertus Magnus College on Saturday, Jan. 24.