NORTHFIELD, Vt. — Graduate student Emily Flynn (Hanover, Mass.) scored a game-high 20 points to lead five players who scored in double figures as Babson College held off a late rally to defeat Norwich University, 82-69, in a non-conference women's basketball contest Wednesday afternoon inside Andrews Gym.

With the victory, the Beavers have won four of their last five outings to improve to 8-5 overall while the Cadets have dropped their last five contests to slide to 4-8 on the season.

Flynn made 8-of-16 shots from the field and added seven assists, six rebounds and four steals to lead the Green and White. Sophomore Rylie Rosenberg (New Rochelle, N.Y.) scored 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting with three buckets from beyond the arc, senior Chloe Perrault (Danbury, Conn.) contributed 11 points and a game-high nine rebounds, and sophomore Julia St. Laurent (Greenland, N.H.) and first-year Alyssa Hopps (Quincy, Mass.) chipped in with 10 points apiece in the victory.

First-year Cassidy Kittredge (Waterford, Vt.) made 8-of-14 shots for Norwich and finished with a team-high 16 points while classmate Gracie Laster (Arlington, Va.) also scored in double digits with 12 points. Fellow first-year Maggi Ellsworth (West Topsham, Vt.) chipped in with nine points and classmate Jade Garceau (Fairfield, Vt.) was good for eight points and a team-high eight rebounds in the loss.

The hosts used a 16-5 run in the first quarter to open up a 16-9 lead, as senior Siobhan O'Donnell (Queens, N.Y.) drained a three, senior Kiley O'Brien (Kingston, Mass.) hit two layups and a jumper, and Ellsworth converted a traditional three-point play to spark the Cadets. The Beavers answered with six straight points to slice the margin to one, and the teams traded baskets in the final 16 seconds of the quarter as Norwich took an 18-17 advantage into the second.

After five lead changes in the first two minutes of the second stanza, Babson pulled away with a 16-6 surge over the next six minutes to take a 37-28 advantage. Rosenberg scored five points in the rally, Flynn added four and first-year Molly Donovan (Duxbury, Mass.) added a three-pointer off the bench. After senior Jessie Zimmerman (Turner, Maine) hit a triple for Norwich, Babson sophomore Brooke Canty (Dover, Mass.) answered with a three of her own and followed with a layup as the Beaver lead swelled to 11 points (42-31). Zimmerman knocked down a pair of free throws for the Cadets as the visitors took a 42-33 lead into the break.

Babson scored the first 11 points of the third quarter to open up a game-high 20-point margin as Rosenberg, Flynn and Perreault connected on consecutive three-pointers and Flynn added a layup to make it 53-33. It was still a 19-point game with six minutes to play before Norwich scored seven straight points, including five from Laster, and the hosts hit two buckets in the final minute of the quarter to get the deficit down to single digits after three, 61-52.

O'Donnell sank a pair of freebies to cut the margin to seven points but Rosenberg and Perreault hit back-to-back shots for Babson to get the lead back up to double digits (65-54) with nine minutes remaining. Norwich pulled to within six points (70-64) on a Kittredge layup with 5:21 to play, and got to within five points (72-67) after an and-one by Laster with less than four minutes on the clock. Hopps hit a free throw for Babson and Garceau answered with a layup as the margin shrunk to just four points (73-69).

That's as close as the Cadets would get as Babson scored the final nine points of the game, keeping the Cadets scoreless over the final 3:31. Perreault drained a three, Hopps and Perreault combined to make four straight free throws, and St. Laurent finished things off with a fast-break lay-up to seal the win.

The Beavers shot 42.3 percent from the field (30-of-71) and 39.1 percent (9-0f-23) from beyond the arc. Norwich, which had a 48-42 advantage on the glass, connected on 43.9 percent from the field (29-of-66) but just 18.3 percent (3-of-16) from deep.

Babson plays its final non-conference game of the season next Tuesday against No. 18/15 Trinity at Staake Gymnasium, while Norwich opens Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play next Wednesday at home against Dean.

GAME NOTES
• Babson is 3-0 all-time against Norwich in a series that dates back to 2002 after what was the first game in the series in Vermont.
• With her two three-pointers, Flynn became the fifth player in Babson history to reach 100 for her career, joining Katelyn Mollica '25 (218), Erin Young '15 (190), Caitlin Boulier '08 (172) and Joanna Maher '03 (138).
• The Beavers have won eight of nine games this season when scoring at least 65 points.