NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Norwich Cadets took the court on Saturday afternoon looking to get their seventh straight victory and to remain undefeated in the GNAC. Hosting conference-rival Emmanuel College on Saturday in Andrews Hall, it was the Saints, however, who walked away with their perfect GNAC record intact, serving the Cadets an 86-53 loss.
Senior co-captains Christine Daniels and Laurel McWilliams, two teammates who have been named GNAC's "Player of the Week" in consecutive weeks, put up 17 points apiece in the game.
Although Norwich's winning streak came to end this afternoon, Daniels' 16-straight double-doubles remain intact, as she combined her 17 points with 13 rebounds. The double-digit rebounds also earned her a place in the GNAC's history records as the 16th female athlete to achieve 800-career rebounds. Daniels also made two steals on the Saints and earned one assist.
McWilliams made six boards in the game, recording two assists and one steal. She was 4-of-4 from the line, 6-of-19 inside the arc and sank one 3-pointer.
The Saints saw big numbers put up by sophomore Fiona O'Dwyer, who accumulated 28 points and 11 rebounds on the day. She also played a key defensive role with three blocks and one steal, and was credited with two assists. O'Dwyer shot 13-of-20 inside the arc and sank both attempted 3-pointers.
Senior Kristin LeBel wasn't too far behind with her 23 total points, as she also sank two 3-pointers, while netting nine baskets inside the arc and going 3-of-4 from the line. LeBel made three steals and earned three assists in the game.
Rounding out the Saints was junior Meghan Kirwan who was credited with a game-high seven assists. She also made three steals, while putting up 10 points and seven rebounds. Senior Casey Shevlin also fed her teammates under the basket to earn six assists against the rivaled Cadets.
Norwich (11-5, 4-1 GNAC) faced their first loss of the 2011 schedule, as Emmanuel (8-6, 4-0 GNAC) put an end to the Cadets' six-game winning streak. The Saints were up 45-23 at the half and dominated the majority of play. They controlled the lead for over 36 minutes of the 40-minute conference game.
McWilliams quickly put Norwich up 2-0 in the second play of the game on a jumper just 31 seconds into the first half. A layup by O'Dwyer evened it at 2-all and in the second minute of playing time the Saints took the lead they would own the remainder of the game on a Kirwan layup.
The Cadets move on to host Saint Joseph's (Vt.) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Andrews Hall. This game was rescheduled from its original date back in November. Norwich will then remain at home to play Pine Manor on Saturday, tipping off at 3 p.m.
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