Lawrence and Lewis combine for 33 points for Panthers

            NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Norwich University women's basketball team marched past Plymouth State University, 68-60, in a non-conference contest on Tuesday night.

            Sophomore Heather LeBlanc (Sanford, Maine) collected her fifth double-doubles on the year for Norwich after posting a team-high 21 points and 16 rebounds, while senior Tory Kethro (Barnstable, Mass.) posted a season-high 10 points on the night. Senior guard Kelsey Lotti (South Yarmouth, Mass.) contributed 15 points and nine rebounds, while teammate Aliah Curry (Windsor, Mass.) posted 11 points with a pair of steals during the win.

            Plymouth State (6-13) was led by sophomore Ace Lawrence (Middletown, Conn.), who scored a team-high 18 points, while senior Tiffany Lewis (Hillsboro, N.H.) contributed 15 points and pulled down eight rebounds on the night. Junior Taylor Perry (Simsbury, Conn.) and freshman Elisabeth Caron (Londonderry, N.H.) chipped in with nine points apiece off the Panther bench.

            The Cadets (16-4) jumped ahead as Kethro scored six of the eight points for the lead in the first six minutes after the opening tip-off. Plymouth State would respond quickly on a layup, two free throws, and a jumper to trail by two, 8-6, in fewer than two minutes.  Trailing by one point, 13-12, at the 10 minute mark, Norwich would take advantage of the paint as LeBlanc connected with Arianna Harrison (Vernon, Vt.) for the easy layup to start the 9-0 run for the 21-13 score. The Panthers rallied on a 7-3 spurt before the Cadets closed out the stanza with a nine point command to lead 38-26 at the break.

            The Cadets maintained the lead throughout the second half, despite the early 8-0 run by the Panthers that shrunk the lead down to six for the 47-41 score at the 12:06 mark.  Norwich continued to battle its way through the perimeter with LeBlanc posting 11 points in the half. With 1:38 remaining in the contest and Norwich leading 64-54, the Panthers managed to add eight more points in the closing minutes before a layup from Harrison and a pair of free throws by Kayla Mercer (New Britain, Conn.) made the final score 68-60.

            Norwich returns to Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play on Saturday when it hosts Saint Joseph's (Maine) for a 3 p.m. game. PSU plays a non-conference make-up game Thursday at Lasell College (7:00 p.m.) 

(Courtesy of Norwich Sports Information)

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