NEWTON, Mass. - Despite a nine-point halftime lead, the Norwich University women's basketball team could not secure a crucial Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) victory on Saturday afternoon, falling to a strong second-half effort by Lasell University, 69-56, at the Lasell Athletic Center.

Three Cadets logged double-digits in the loss, as Maren McGinn (Georgia, Vt.) paced the offensive output with 16 points and eight caroms.  Haley Brewster (Virginia Beach, Va.) and Kiley O'Brien (Kingston, Mass.) both provided 10 points apiece.

After the Lasers claimed a pair of two-point leads early in the opening quarter, Erika Thomas (Burlington, N.C.) granted the Cadets control of the first half, knocking down a trey to give Norwich its first lead.  A Lasell freebie knotted the affair at 5-all, but a McGinn layup provided Norwich a lead it would not surrender for the remainder of the half.

A tip-in by the Lasers seconds into the second stanza whittled Norwich's lead down to one, but back-to-back three-pointers by O'Brien and Thomas, paired with stalwart defense by the Cadets, pushed the visitors ahead by seven.  Norwich continued to keep Lasell at bay, building a nine-point before halftime.

Another Thomas long-range shot with 7:57 left in the third quarter propelled the Cadets to their largest lead of 12, before the Lasers surged to end the frame, trimming Norwich's advantage to one and eventually reclaiming the edge on the opening basket of the fourth stanza.

Sage MacAuley (Barre, Vt.) provided the final Norwich lead of the afternoon at 43-41, as Lasell's offense exploded in the closing eight minutes, constructing a lead that ballooned to as large as 15 en route to the 13-point victory.

Norwich held onto narrow 22-16 and 8-3 leads in points in the paint and fast break points, respectively, while maintaining a 37.0% shooting clip on field goals.  The Cadet defense restricted Lasell to just 33.3% for the game.

With a pair of games left before the GNAC Tournament, the Cadets now enter a must-win scenario heading into the final week of the regular season.  Norwich will first travel to Saint Joseph's College of Maine on Tuesday, Feb. 18, for a 5:00 p.m. showdown, before returning home to host Mitchell College on Saturday, Feb. 22, for Senior Day at 1:00 p.m.