Late Free Throws lift Women's Basketball to a one point win

(Northfield, Vermont) Junior Deanna Purcell (Hudson, NH) and senior Ryan Baker (Whitinsville, Mass.) of the Rivier University women's basketball team combined for four free-throws with 3.7 seconds left to play en route to an 80-79 win over the Cadets of Norwich University in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action on Saturday afternoon at Andrews Hall.

The win boosts the Raiders to 16-3 overall and 6-0 in league play while the Cadets fall to 9-9 overall and 2-4 in the GNAC.

Norwich freshman Heather LeBlanc (Sanford, Maine) hit a layup with 18 seconds remaining in the game to put the Cadets up one, 77-76. The Raiders had time to run a play and Baker drove to the lane, where her layup attempt was swatted away by LeBlanc, who was whistled for a foul. The referees signaled a technical on Norwich, giving the Raiders four attempts to take the lead.

Purcell was selected to shoot the technical shots, and she hit both before Baker followed with two of her own. Now down 80-77 with 3.7 to play, the Cadets inbounded to Kristin Brown (Williamstown, Vt.) at half court, who found LeBlanc open in the paint for a layup to bring the score to 80-79 as time expired.

The Raiders' free-throws were four of 18 points that the visitors scored at the line, as both teams spent a majority of time in both halves the bonus in game that saw 41 combined fouls. The Cadets connected on 14 of 20 free-throw attempts on the afternoon.

Rivier held an 11-point lead early in the second half, but it would mark the only double-digit lead for either team in the entire game. Norwich would take a quick lead, 58-57 on a jumper by LeBlanc at the 10:16 mark, but it was short-lived as Rivier senior AJ Guidi (Derry, NH) connected on the three-pointer on the Raider's next possession.

In the final 9:23 of the second half, the score was tied four times and there were eight lead changes as both teams battled for control and never lead by more than four points. Both Rivier and Norwich had near-identical shooting percentages in the second half, as the Raiders hit 13-of-30 field goal attempts (43.3 percent), and the Cadets nailed 17 of 39 field goal attempts (43.6 percent).

Junior Aliah Curry (Windsor, Vt.) scored 31 points on 11-27 shooting from field goal range with four three-pointers and five free-throws for the Cadets. Junior Kelsey Lotti (South Yarmouth, Mass.) added 19 points and seven rebounds, while LeBlanc chipped in 12 points and 12 rebounds for her second straight double-double.

The Raiders had four players score in double-figures, led by Purcell with 25 points. Guidi added 16 points, followed by freshman Savanna Butterfield (Londonderry, NH) with 13 points. Baker added 12 points.

In the first half, Lotti hit a three-pointer to score the first basket of the day. The Cadets used the opening three minutes to build a five-point lead, 11-6. Norwich would manage to stay in front of the Raiders by a point or two, but Rivier would not back down and forced the first tie of the game, 18-18, at the 9:04 mark.

Rivier freshman Rebecca DeBaldo (Pelham, NH) hit both ends of a pair of free-throws to give the Raiders a 19-18 lead, but Heather LeBlanc hit back-to-back layups to give Norwich another three-point advantage. Kristin Brown scored a layup for Norwich following a scoreless Raider possession to put Norwich up by five, 24-19, with seven minutes still to play.

The Raiders wasted no time building their recovery, and a three-pointer by Curry at the 4:21 mark would prove to be the Cadets' last field goal of the half. The Raiders took the lead on their next possession and built a six-point, 41-35 halftime lead.

Norwich connected on 29-73 field goal attempts (39.7 percent) on the afternoon, while the Raiders shot 41.9 percent (26-62). Norwich outscored the Raiders 34-23 in the paint, and also held a 12-9 advantage in points off turnovers and a 14-3 advantage in second-chance points. Rivier bested the Cadets in fast break points (16-4) and in bench points (23-11).

Rivier will look to for their 7th GNAC win of the season next time on the court when they host Lasell College on Thursday evening (5:30pm start time) at the Muldoon Gymnasium. The Cadets will be back in action on Tuesday, Feb. 4 when they travel to Plymouth State University for a 5:30 p.m. non-conference game.