FRANKLIN, Mass. - The Norwich University women's basketball team broke free from a hard-fought Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) battle to earn their first league victory of the 2024-25 campaign, topping Dean College, 79-61, at Piero Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.

Haley Brewster (Virginia Beach, Va.) led the Cadets offensively, tallying 15 points and a game-best five assists in 26 minutes of action.  Maren McGinn (Georgia, Vt.) posted 11 points and seven rebounds, while Kiley O'Brien (Kingston, Mass.) nearly logged a double-double on nine points and 14 caroms.  Erika Thomas (Burlington, N.C.) added nine points, in a contest where 12 different Cadets scored.

After an initial stalemate, Thomas broke the early deadlock on her first of three treys before Alexandria Paquet got the Bulldogs on the board with a pair of freebies.  The Cadets kept Dean at bay throughout the opening 10 minutes, building a double-digit lead on baskets from McGinn and Madeline Ortiz (Lancaster, Calif.) in the waning minutes.

A late spurt by the Bulldogs brought the hosts to within two with 2:52 remaining in the second quarter, but back-to-back long-range shots by Lily Briggs (Fair Haven, Vt.) and Jessica Zimmerman (Turner, Maine) extended the advantage out to eight at the break.

Brewster ignited a 16-6 run out of the gates, capped off by a Mallorie Chalmers (Milton, Vt.) jumper that gave the Cadets an 18-point edge.  Dean was able to whittle the lead down to 12 in the third and 10 early in the fourth, but Norwich outscored the Bulldogs, 22-14, over the final seven and a half minutes to claim the 18-point victory.

The Cadets seized advantages in nearly every statistical category, including in points off turnovers (30-15), second chance points (27-15), bench points (32-9), points in the paint (26-2), and fast break points (2-0).

Norwich maintained a blistering 44.2% clip from the floor, while defeating the Bulldogs, 51-32, on the glass.  The Cadets forced Dean into 25 miscues and a 32.8% mark on field goals.

Dean's Paquet led all scorers, racking up 19 points and pacing a trio of double-digit Bulldog scorers.

The 18-point victory continues Norwich's dominant all-time unbeaten streak over the Bulldogs dating back to Dean's inaugural season in the GNAC in 2021-2022, when the Cadets claimed a 24-point victory.  Norwich's previous two margin of victories against the Bulldogs include 57 points (72-15 in 2022-23) and 71 points (103-32 in 2023-24).

The Cadets will look to keep their momentum alive with their final game of January, traveling to Colby-Sawyer College on Wednesday, Jan. 29, for a 5:30 p.m. duel with the Chargers.  Norwich then returns home to host Albertus Magnus College on Saturday, Feb. 1, at 1:00 p.m. in Andrews Gymnasium.