NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Norwich University women's basketball team held the Great Northeast Athletic Conference's (GNAC) second-ranked offense of Albertus Magnus College well below its season scoring average, but did not have enough firepower on this day falling 58-40 on Saturday afternoon at Andrews Gym.

Norwich (6-13, 2-4 GNAC) and Albertus Magnus (13-6, 4-2 GNAC) battled back and forth in the first half of the opening quarter. With the score tied at 7-7, the Falcons strung together 10-straight points to establish a 17-7 lead and ended the stanza with a 20-9 advantage.

The Cadets ramped up the defensive intensity in the second period holding the Falcons to just 2-of-11 shooting from the field for just five points. Unfortunately, the hosts were just 2-of-16 from the field and could only reduce to lead to 25-16 at the break.

Halftime adjustments by the visitors allowed them to start the third quarter on a 13-0 run to build their lead to 38-16. The Falcons outscored the Cadets 21-7 by the end of the period to take a comfortable 46-23 lead into the final quarter.

Norwich had its best shooting performance of the game in the last 10 minutes of play as it outscored the guests 17-12, but was unable to make any large in-roads reducing the deficit as its quest for three-straight wins fell short of the mark.

Norwich received great production from its bench players who outscored their counterparts 16-0.

Junior guard Riley Bennett (Hopkinton, N.H.) and KristieAnn DeSilvio (Chelmsford, Mass.) topped the Cadet scorers with eight points each. Junior forward Caileigh Travers (Valley Cottage, N.Y.) popped off the bench with six points and tied DeSilvio and junior guard Emily Schromm (North Attleboro, Mass.) for the team lead in rebounds with seven, a career-high for Schromm. Freshman guard Alexis Matte (Lebanon, N.H.) scored a career-high four points in reserve of the starters.

Norwich will welcome GNAC rival Anna Maria to Andrews Gym on Tuesday for a conference showdown scheduled for 7 p.m.