PEPPER PIKE, Ohio -- Winning for the third straight time this season and for the 21st consecutive time over the neighbor Arrows, Notre Dame defeated Ursuline, 78-66, on Tuesday night. (Box)

Junior center #Yvette Hunter# notched her second double-double of the season, with a 21-point, 14-rebound night in what was the American Mideast Conference opener for both eastside Cleveland foes. With the win, Notre Dame (4-1, 1-0 AMC) has now won five consecutive AMC openers dating back to the 2005-06 season.

NDC and Ursuline (2-6) were knotted at 29-29 at halftime before the Falcons went 20-for-40 (50.0 percent) in a hot-shooting second half in which they outscored the Arrows, 49-37.

The first frame featured 11 ties and lead changes and was played evenly with neither side able to shoot well enough to get on a run. Both teams shot below 30 percent in the first.

In the second half, NDC opened with a 6-0 run and built their lead to eight (43-35) by 15:50. Ursuline then fought back to get to within three before a mid-half run tore the game open. Starting with a Hunter jumper off a #Kelsey Waterman# feed at 12:47, Notre Dame went on a 13-1 tear capped off by Waterman scoring four straight points. The freshman guard from Celina, Ohio, finished the game with a solid line in the box score - eight points, six boards and three assists in 18 minutes of action.

That run midway through the second gave NDC a 15-point lead (58-43) at 14:58, and the Falcons would allow the host Arrows to get no closer than six the rest of the way.

The Blue & White finished with a 38.3 percent (31-for-81) mark from the floor. The Falcon offense has now garnered 80-plus shot attempts in back-to-back games. The Arrows shot 33.3 percent (21-for-63) for the game; they came into Tuesday's action ranked 14th and last in the AMC with a 32.0 percent (136-for-425) mark from the floor this season. Notre Dame out-rebounded the Arrows, 51-45, and the Falcons also won the turnover battle, forcing 19 while committing 12.

Hunter scored her 21 points on a 10-of-15 shooting night. #Alex Dackin# (12 points, three assists) and #Kealy McNally# (10 points, seven rebounds, three assists) also figured prominently in the Falcon attack, as did #Chelsea Andorka# (eight points, six boards, three assists and two steals).

Aubrei Clegg led the Arrows in scoring - she had 21 points. Josie Smith added 18 points and 11 rebounds in what was the Arrows' 21st loss in the 21st all-time meeting between the two programs. With their victory in Pepper Pike, NDC is now 11-0 on Ursuline's home floor.

Notre Dame came into the night with the league's top offense (at 82.2 points per game). The Falcons have now won three straight, outscoring their foes, 246-175 in the process. Ursuline has now dropped four of their last five.

The Falcons will be in action again on Thursday when they host Malone in a 7 p.m. game at Murphy Gymnasium.


NOTES FROM THE NEST …

DOUBLING DOWN: Yvette Hunter's double-double Tuesday was the ninth of her career. The junior post player from Jamestown, N.Y., is averaging 11.0 points and 9.2 rebounds per game this season and 12.3 and 5.8 for her 64-game NDC career.

BALANCING ACT: Four players (Hunter, #Tracy Payne#, McNally and Dackin) are averaging between 10.4 and 11.0 points per game this season.