OLIVET, Mich. – Notre Dame closed out their holiday weekend in style Sunday. The Falcons, who lost to Ohio Wesleyan on Saturday, defeated Carnegie Mellon (Pa.) in the consolation game of Olivet College's Comet Classic by a final of 70-58.
Senior forward Jamie Henry (Garfield Heights, Ohio) had game highs in both points (17) and rebounds (10) as the nationally-ranked Falcons ran their season record to 7-2. The Garfield Heights native was 7-of-12 from the field and had a personal season-high seven offensive rebounds in the game. Junior guard Amanda Brown (Vienna, Va.) also stuffed the stat sheet with a 12-point, five-rebound, eight-steal performance.
For the game, Notre Dame dominated the turnover battle, 32-18; the Falcons turned those 32 Tartan miscues into 30 points. NDC had a season-high 21 steals on the afternoon.
With the loss, Carnegie Mellon falls to 1-4.
After CMU took a 3-0 lead to start the game, NDC went on a 12-0 run to take a nine-point lead (12-3) by 17:20. In that stretch, Notre Dame hit six of their first eight attempts from the floor.
The Tartans then went on a 9-2 run to cut the Falcon lead to 14-12. NDC rallied, however, to take a double-digit lead by the middle of the period. The Falcons fueled their run by forcing turnovers and creating quality transition opportunities. Notre Dame ran their way to an eventual 42-31 lead at halftime.
In the second frame, the Tartans got within five (48-43) on a Rachelle Roll (Sr./Ostrander, Ohio) layup at 13:06. Notre Dame responded by scoring the next six points, as an Amanda Brown jumper was bracketed by a pair of buckets by Jamie Henry. That put the Falcons up, 54-43, and they wouldn't look back.
Henry's play spurred Notre Dame to an 18-point lead, 64-46, by 5:34, and the Falcons ran out the lead from there with an even finish.
In addition to Henry and Brown, two other Falcons - sophomore center Yvette Hunter (Jamestown, N.Y.) and senior guard Ashley Carney (Solon, Ohio) – finished the game with double-figures in scoring. Hunter had 14, while Carney added 13. On the heels of Sunday's contest and a 22-point, 10-assist effort on Saturday, Carney was named to the All-Comet Classic tournament team.
Notre Dame shot 40.3 percent (29-for-72) in the game. CMU shot 42.0 percent (21-for-50). A total of just three shots were made from beyond the 3-point arc (two for NDC, one for CMU). The Tartans outrebounded the Falcons, 41-38. Freshman point guard Alexandra Hansen (Westlake, Ohio) led Carnegie Mellon in scoring; she had 14 points.
“We still had some inconsistencies today,” said Dick Deasy. “But we did a nice job putting on pressure in the half-court game.”
That half-court pressure helped force 32 turnovers, the second-most the Falcons have forced this season. Six Tartan players were charged with three or more turnovers.
The neutral-site game was Notre Dame's fifth straight away from College Road. Overall, the Falcons are in the midst of an eight-game stretch of road games.
The No. 21 Falcons will continue their road swing on Wednesday, Nov. 3, when they travel to Amherst, N.Y. to take on No. 17 Daemen. The meeting between the two American Mideast Conference (AMC) foes will count as a non-conference game in the AMC standings. NDC and DC will meet for their AMC tilt in South Euclid on Jan. 31.
NOTES FROM THE NEST…
WOMAN OF STEAL: Amanda Brown's eight steals Sunday tie an NDC single-game mark. Brown was already a co-owner of the record, which has now been accomplished four times, the most recent by Brown on Feb. 16, 2008. For the season, Notre Dame has 114 steals, to their opponent's 47. Brown leads the Falcons, with 28 thefts. She ranked second on the team last season, with 71.
NET GAINS: With her 7-of-12 performance Sunday, Jamie Henry is now shooting 55.6 percent (25-for-45) from the field over the Falcons' last four contests. For the season, the Garfield Heights High School product is shooting 51.1 percent (45-for-88) and averaging 11.5 points per game.
NET LOSS: Losing the battle of the boards Sunday, 41-38, was nothing new for Notre Dame. The Falcons have now been beaten on the glass in seven of their nine games this season. … Last season Notre Dame was out-boarded 18 times in a 23-7 campaign. … Henry was a bright spot on the glass on Sunday. Her seven offensive boards are a single-game best for NDC this season, and her 10 rebounds overall paved the way to her second double-double (points-rebounds) of the season and the seventh of her career.
