PAXTON, Mass. - Despite a triage of double-digit performers and a career-best performance from Kiley O'Brien (Kingston, Mass.), the Norwich University women's basketball team fell victim to a clutch three-pointer in the waning seconds, falling to Anna Maria College, 58-57, in the Cadets' Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) opener on Saturday afternoon at the Fuller Activities Center.

O'Brien and Maren McGinn (Georgia, Vt.) paced the Cadets offensively inside, tallying 16 points apiece on a combined 15-23 shooting clip.  O'Brien hauled down a game-high 13 caroms, while McGinn pulled in seven of her own.  Haley Brewster (Virginia Beach, Va.) rounded out the double-figure scorers, finishing with 15 points while snagging five steals.

Neither team could pull away throughout the opening two quarters, as the Cadets opened up an 8-2 run to kick off the contest before the AMCATS claimed their own seven-point advantage late in the second quarter.  Norwich promptly responded behind a pair of baskets from Brewster and four Silas Bernier (Jaffrey, N.H.) freebies to knot the game up at 25-all, before Anna Maria retook the lead heading into the break on two late free-throws.

Despite a swift AMCAT jumper out of the gates to start the third, the Cadets took control in the frame, outscoring Anna Maria, 21-11, to take an eight-point lead heading into the fourth.  O'Brien and McGinn were catalysts for that dominance, combining for 15 of those 21 points.

The Cadets took a pair of 10-point leads early in the fourth, but could not shut down a 10-0 spurt by Anna Maria.  A McGinn lay-up with two minutes remaining pushed Norwich ahead, 57-55, but a wing trey from Arianna Saladini proved to be the difference maker with 18 seconds left, giving AMCATS the one-point victory.

Norwich held a 28-16 advantage in points in the paint, leading to a 44.9% shooting clip.

The Cadets will step out of conference play to close out December, as they will travel to Puerto Rico for a pair of bouts before the holiday break in the 2023 DIII Puerto Rico Classico.  They will first take on Hilbert College at 10:00 a.m, on Wednesday, Dec. 20, before battling Case Western Reserve University at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 21.