NORTHFIELD, Vt.—Junior guard Aliah Curry (Windsor, Mass.) became the all-time leading scorer at Norwich University following a 23-point performance in Great Northeast Athletic Conference women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon. Curry's Cadets edged the Falcons of Albertus Magnus College 66-63.
With the win, the Cadets improve to 13-10 overall and 4-5 in GNAC play, while the loss drops the Falcons to 5-18 overall and 2-7 against league opponents.
Entering today's game, Curry needed 22 points to break the school's 19-year old scoring record, which was set by 1994 graduate Lisa Trujillo. With 6:56 to play, Curry hit both ends of a set a free-throws to tie the record at 1,561 points. Just over two-and-a-half minutes later, she drove to the hoop for a layup, collected her own rebound at the top of the key, and drove through the lane for a second time—this time scoring the milestone basket.
Her 23-point performance today marks the 35th-straight game in which she has scored in double-figures, dating back to January 10, 2013. She connected on 7-26 shots from the floor with one three-pointer and added an 8-8 effort from the free-throw line.
In addition to Curry, the Cadets received a double-double of 16 points and 16 rebounds from freshman Heather LeBlanc (Sanford, Maine). LeBlanc connected on 8-11 shots from the floor and registered seven offensive rebounds. Senior Kristin Brown (Williamstown, Vt.) aided Norwich with eight points and four assists, while juniorKelsey Lotti (South Yarmouth, Mass.) dished out six assists.
Albertus Magnus received a game-high 30 points and six assists from senior Lianna Carrero (Hamden, Conn.). Senior Annie Raucci (Milford, Conn.) and junior Annie Sutila (Bridgeport, Conn.) both added 12 points apiece, while senior Nicole Acerra (East Haven, Conn.) paced the Falcons on the boards with six rebounds.
The second half saw four ties and five lead changes in a closely contested game. The Falcons took their largest lead of the half, 40-33, at the 14:51 mark, but the Cadets rattled off six-straight points to cut the Falcons' lead to one at 12:50. Back-to-back Albertus layups would put them up by five, but the control was brief as Norwich netted seven-straight points to take their first lead of the half, 46-44, with 9:14 to play.
Following a free-throw by Acerra, Curry scored four straight points to give the Cadets their largest lead of the day, 50-45, with 8:01 to play. The Falcons forced ties at 52-52 and again at 57-57. With 3:04 still to play, Carrero hit a jumper to give the Falcons the 59-57 edge, but Norwich's Mehgan McMullen (Northfield, Vt.) answered with a jumper on Norwich's next possession to regain control.
The score would knot one more time at 62-62 on the first of two free-throws by Carrero with 48 seconds left to play. She would net the second one to put the Falcons up by one point, and the Cadets would take their own one-point lead following a layup by senior Erin Clark (Newbury, Vt.) with 25 seconds still to play.
Looking for the go-ahead basket, Albertus Magnus ran down the clock to nine seconds and put the ball in Carrero's hand. Carrero drove to the lane and was signaled for an offensive foul to give possession back to the Cadets. Forced to foul, the Falcons put sophomore Donovan Driscoll (Chelmsford, Mass.) on the line, who promptly hit both free-throws to seal the 66-63 win.
The Cadets connected on 39.4 percent (13-33) of their shots from the floor in the second half, while the Falcons hit 48.1 percent (13-27) of second-half field goals.
The Falcons shooting was an improvement from their first-half effort, where they hit nine of 25 field goal attempts to post a 36 percent effort. Six of their first half field goals were from three point range.
Albertus Magnus dominated the opening minutes of the first half, as they quickly exploded for a 10-point lead, 16-16, just 4:40 into the game. Norwich would respond with a 12-2 run to tie the score at 18-18 with 7:04 to play in the half, but after almost two minutes of scoreless play, Sutila hit a three-pointer to put the Falcons up by three, 21-18.
The Cadets took the lead for the only time of the half at the 3:53 mark following a pair of free-throws by Curry. Sutila connected on another three to put the Falcons up by two, 26-24, with 3:22 still to play. Albertus Magnus was able to maintain the margin and take a 28-26 lead into halftime.
Norwich held advantages in four scoring categories on the afternoon, including points in the paint (34-20), points scored off turnovers (14-9), second-chance points (14-10), and bench points (28-2).
Prior to tip-off, Norwich recognized the contributions from seniors Brown, Clark, and Tylita Butler (Lexington Park, Md.).
*Release courtesy of Norwich University Sports Information Dept.