NEWTON, Mass. – In their 2014-15 women's basketball Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) opener, Mount Ida College dropped an 83-55 decision to visiting Norwich University on Saturday afternoon at Mount Ida Athletic Center.
Norwich senior guard Aliah Curry (Windsor, Mass.) poured in 16 of her game-high 18 points in the first half, while first year guard Shanell Nardone (Tewksbury, Mass.) led Mount Ida with 13 points on 4-9 shooting and 3-6 from the three-point line.
Stephanie Champoux (Tewksbury, Mass.) added 11 points, five rebounds and four assists for the Mustangs (5-9, 0-1 GNAC).
Both teams had difficulty finding their stroke early on, and nearly five minutes into the game, the squads were knotted at four.
Norwich (9-2, 1-1 GNAC) began to separate themselves by scoring the next 12 points, a run that included two three-pointers by Curry and a pair of steals by Shyann Josler (Thetford, Vt.), who had seven points in the game.
Mustang freshman Trish Liotta (Hampton Bays, N.Y.) hit a three-pointer to end the run momentarily, but then Heather LeBlanc (Sanford, Maine), who ended the game with 16 points for the Cadets, began to take over with a pair of layups, and Kelsey Lotti (South Yarmouth, Mass.) nailed a three-pointer to cap another 9-0 run by the Cadets.
Liotta finished the game with nine points and an assist for the Mustangs, and Lotti added nine points and five rebounds in a winning effort for Norwich.
Curry's third three-pointer of the half gave the Cadets their largest lead of the half, 22 points, at 34-12
Nardone had scored 11 points in the first half, including 3-3 from behind the three-point line, and her triple just before the buzzer pulled the hosts back to within 16 at the break, 44-28.
The lead reached 20 points for the Cadets early in the second half when Josler converted an old-fashioned three-point play and it had ballooned to as much as 25 points with 11:51 to play in the game.
It hovered that way for the final ten minutes of the contest, with a three-pointer by Kayla Mercer (New Britain, Conn.) making the 28 point final score the biggest margin of the game.
Curry dished out five assists and pulled down six rebounds in a well-rounded effort, while LeBlanc led the Cadets with seven caroms.
Mount Ida had a 52-46 edge on the boards, led by 12 rebounds from sophomore Angelique Martinez (Taunton, Mass.), a game-high, who also pitched in with eight points and two assists.
Norwich forced 19 turnovers while just making 7 miscues of their own. Josler had four of their six steals to go with five assists of her own.
The Mustangs continue their home-stand next Wednesday night when Pine Manor visits from around the corner for a 6:00 pm non-conference affair.
Norwich will stay in conference play next Tuesday evening with a 7:00 pm home game against Saint Joseph (CT).