NORTHFIELD, VT - The Saint Joseph's College women's basketball team won its first Great Northeast Athletic Conference matchup of the season, defeating Norwich University, 71-48, on Saturday afternoon.

With the loss, the Cadets fall to 5-7 overall and 0-1 in GNAC action while the win boosts the visiting Monks to 7-5 overall and 1-0 in conference play.

Seven different players scored for St. Joe's in the first half, including Lindsay Moore (Barrington, N.H.), who led all scorers with 14 first-half points.  The lead would change hands three times in the half, as the Monks controlled the lead in the opening minutes of the game by scoring the first five points of the game.

Norwich would respond with five points of their own to tie, and then took their own five-point lead at 10-5 with 16 minutes left in the half.  The Monks would outscore the Cadets 6-1 in the next two minutes to tie the score at 11 apiece with fewer than 14 minutes to play. From there, the Monks would not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the game, extending their first half lead 40-24 on a layup by Moore with as time expired.

The Monks shot 54.8 percent in the first half while holding the Cadets to 25 percent shooting.

The visitors capitalized on 40.9% shooting from the floor and 10-17 shooting from the free-throw line to extend their lead in the second half.  Norwich connected on 11 of 28 attempts from the floor in the second half, but shot 0-for-5 from three-point range.

The Cadets were led by Jessalyn Sweeney (Standfordville, N.Y.), who scored a team-high 14 points in addition to adding six rebounds and five steals. Kristin Brown (Williamstown, Vt.) aided the Cadets with 12 points and three rebounds.  Aliah Curry (Windsor, Mass.) rounded out the top scorers for Norwich with nine points.

Moore totaled 18 points for the Monks and added 11 rebounds to notch the double-double. Mackenzie Dufour (Augusta, Maine) and Danyelle Shufelt (Sutton, Vt.) contributed 10 points apiece, while Dufour and Sarah Assante (Standish, Maine) dealt four assists apiece on the afternoon.

With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 13-6 in the history of the series with Norwich University and has now defeated the Cadets in three-consecutive meetings dating back to the 2010-11 season. This afternoon's winning margin over the Cadets is the largest recorded by either team in the 21-year history of the matchup.

For the Cadets, today's point output is the second-fewest scored against St. Joe's in a head-to-head matchup that dates back to the 1992-93 campaign. The lowest total put up by Norwich came in a 56-47 SJC victory on January 4th, 2003 at the Harold Alfond Center.

Norwich returns to action on Tuesday, Jan. 8 when it travels to SUNY Plattsburgh for a 6:00 p.m. non-conference matchup.  The Monks are idle until next Saturday when they travel to Rivier for a 3:00 p.m. GNAC tilt.

THANKS IN LARGE PART TO NORWICH UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION

Saint Joseph's College, founded in 1912 by the Sisters of Mercy, celebrates its Centennial year in 2012 with a theme of "Realize the Promise" – honoring our commitment to educating well-rounded graduates who combine career focus with classic liberal arts studies. A Private, Catholic, primarily residential, coeducational liberal arts institution, Saint Joseph's welcomes students of all ages and all faiths. The campus, located 18 miles northwest of Portland and just two hours from Boston, encompasses 350 acres along the shore of beautiful Sebago Lake in Standish, Maine. Enrollment ranges between 1,000 and 1,100 students annually. Saint Joseph's offers challenging academic programs in the liberal arts and sciences, education, nursing and business fields in a value-centered environment.