LYNDONVILLE, Vt. - The Norwich University women's basketball team's triplet of double-digit scorers was enough to outscore Vermont State University Lyndon themselves in Norwich's final game of the 2024 calendar year, as the Cadets took down the Hornets, 71-50, in a non-conference bout at George W. Stannard Gymnasium on Tuesday evening.

Weeks after setting a new career high, Kiley O'Brien (Kingston, Mass.) repeated her accomplishment, netting a new career-best against the Hornets with a 20-point performance on 8-14 shooting.  Haley Brewster (Virginia Beach, Va.) drained three treys en route to 18 points, while Maren McGinn (Georgia, Vt.) flirted with a double-double on 15 points and nine boards.

Early sequences of the game indicated a close affair, as back-to-back points from O'Brien were answered by a Kadienne Whitcomb three-pointer to bring the Hornets within one, 4-3.  Norwich proceeded to dominate the stanza, holding VTSU Lyndon scoreless over the final eight and a half minutes of the frame en route to taking a 21-3 lead.

The Hornets scored the first basket of the second quarter and found some momentum, but Norwich held strong, never allowing VTSU Lyndon within 14 in the first half.  A pair of Erika Thomas (Burlington, N.C.) foul shots and a three-point play by O'Brien before the buzzer propelled the Cadets to a 19-point halftime lead.

Norwich withheld another Hornet run in the third, again preventing the hosts from trimming the advantage down to single digits.  VTSU Lyndon got over the hump on a pair of occasions early in the fourth, but the Cadet offense exploded, turning a nine-point lead into a 23-point on a 14-0 run en route to the 21-point win.

10 different Cadets found themselves in the scoresheet, as Norwich racked up a 40.6% shooting percentage.

Sage Smith led the Hornets offensively with 17 points, while Whitcomb added 13 in the loss.

The Cadets controlled in points off turnovers (19-14), bench points (16-2), points in the paint (34-8), and fast break points (10-5).  Norwich's defense held the Hornets to just 30.9% shooting and six trips to the charity stripe.

Norwich will return after the holiday break with a Tuesday, Jan. 7 showdown against Anna Maria College, opening Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play against the AMCATS at 1:00 p.m. in Andrews Gym.  The Cadets then host Nichols College two days later on Thursday, Jan. 9.