After spending two seasons as an assistant coach on the women's basketball staff at Purdue-Fort Wayne, Lauren Macer returns to Notre Dame College for her fifth season on the sideline in 2023-24. She had been the head coach of the Notre Dame women's basketball program from 2017-21.
Macer has led five players to be named to the All-MEC team with Seina Adachi earning First Team honors three times (2018, 2019, 2020), Kim Cook being named First Team All-MEC and Marisa Finazzo earning Second Team honors in 2018 and Jada Marone earning Second Team All-MEC and Jessie Stout taking Honorable Mention in 2020. Adachi and Cook received All-MEC Tournament Team recognition in 2018 and Adachi and Marone were named to the All-MEC Tournament in 2020. Cook (2018) and Adachi (2020) were named Commissioner's Heart and Hustle Award.
In her first year at the helm of the program, NDC saw one of its most successful seasons in school history. The Falcons went 23-9 overall and 17-5 in the MEC, setting a record for the most wins in NDC Division II history. The team finished second in the Mountain East regular season for the best finish since joining the conference and made it to the MEC Tournament Championship game.
Notre Dame had an excellent shooting year in the 2017-18 season. The Falcons led the MEC in three-point field goal percentage (.358) and ranked second in field goal percentage (.439). The team also did well on the defensive end as one of just two teams in the conference to average over 10 steals per game.
Macer followed up her first season with a strong 2018-19 year full of adversity. The team finished fifth in the MEC and earned a trip to the conference tournament for the second time in two years under Macer. In 2018-19, the Falcons were one of the strongest rebounding teams in the league. NDC ranked second in rebounding defense and first in defensive rebound percentage (.706).
The 2019-20 season was the most successful as the team set program records with 26 wins, 18 conference wins and 12 road wins. The Falcons reached the MEC Tournament championship game before qualifying for the NCAA Division II Tournament for the first time in program history. Notre Dame's offense ranked 15th in NCAA Division II with 79.2 points per game, 34th with 458 assists and 35th in field goal percentage at 44.3-percent. NDC was third in the Mountain East Conference in assists to turnover margin at 1.07. On defense, the Falcons ranked 15th in the country in total steals with 344 and 23rd with 11.1 steals per game. They ranked second in the MEC by allowing just 70.4 points per game, third in field goal percentage defense at 40.8-percent and second in blocks with 111.
Following the 2019-20 season, Macer earned MEC Coach of the Year and was named one of the top college coaches under the age of 30 by being listed on the WBCA Thirty Under 30 list.
Under Macer's leadership, her team has also performed well in the classroom. In the 2018-19 season, Adachi earned Academic All-Region honors from CoSIDA. Macer has had a total of 17 student-athletes from the team earned academic recognition from the MEC. In 2018, Notre Dame led the conference with the most women's basketball players honored.
Macer is a 2013 Notre Dame College graduate and played for the Falcons from 2009-13. She joined the Women's Basketball coaching staff for the 2013-14 season as a volunteer assistant and then became the graduate assistant prior to the 2014-15 campaign. She was promoted to assistant coach before the 2016-17 season.
As a Twinsburg High School graduate, she received 10 varsity letters, excelling in basketball and track with two appearances at the state track meet. In 2015, Macer was inducted into the Twinsburg High School Hall of Fame.
She was instrumental in leading the Falcons her senior season by joining the "1,000 point club". As part of Notre Dame College history, Macer ended her career 7th in career points, 1st in free throws made in a single season (185), and 1st in points averaged for a single season (18.2).
She received her bachelors degree in Adolescent Young Adult Education with a concentration in English Language Arts from Notre Dame College and also completed her Masters of Education with a Reading Certification.
|
Overall |
MEC |
| Season |
W |
L |
% |
W |
L |
% |
| 2017-18* |
23 |
9 |
.719 |
17 |
5 |
.773 |
| 2018-19* |
15 |
14 |
.517 |
12 |
10 |
.545 |
| 2019-20*! |
26 |
5 |
.839 |
18 |
4 |
.818 |
| 2020-21* |
14 |
4 |
.778 |
13 |
3 |
.812 |
| Totals |
78 |
32 |
.709 |
60 |
22 |
.732 |
*=MEC Tournament Berth
!=NCAA Division II Tournament Berth
