PLYMOUTH, N.H. - Johnson State hung close to non-conference foe Plymouth State University through the first half but saw the host Panthers pull away in the second half for a 66-49 women's basketball victory on Thursday.  Johnson now sits at 4-16, 2-11 in the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) while Plymouth improves to 4-15 overall.

Johnson was led by senior guard Andrea Deuell (Milton, Vt./Milton) (pictured) who scored a team-best 21 points and collected four steals while freshman guard Brittany Robertson (Burlington, Vt./Burlington) added 14 points and four rebounds.

Plymouth saw Michaela Galvin net a career-high 21 points including a 6-9 3-point shooting effort to go with seven rebounds and five assists.  Sam Monohan recorded a double-double for the Panthers with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

The Badgers played a strong defensive first half and held a 19-14 lead following a Robertson lay up with 5:21 remaining in the stanza.  But Plymouth would rattle off the next 14 points before halftime to take a 28-19 lead into the locker room.

JSC would cut the margin to six in the early minutes of the second half but Galvin would hit on four of her 3-point field goals in a three minute span to grow the lead to 46-26 with 15:10 left to play and but seal it for the Panthers.

Johnson will now prepare for a huge set of home NAC contests on Friday, February 10 and Saturday, February 11 against Thomas College and the University of Maine-Farmington, respectively.  Johnson sits one game behind Thomas for the eighth and final playoff spot and will tip-off with the Terriers at 5:30 pm on Friday, February 10.  Plymouth will also step back into conference action in their next contest with a tilt at Eastern Connecticut State University on Saturday at 1:00 pm.