CEDARVILLE, Ohio--The Lady Jackets of Cedarville put on a show in the first half of Saturday's contest against Notre Dame, taking a 24-point lead halfway through, and came away with an 88-66, victory over the Falcons . (Box)

For the Falcons (14-9, 10-5 American Mideast), the loss was just their second in their last six games, and it was their third loss in their last five road tilts. Junior center #Yvette Hunter# was NDC's leading scorer, with 15 points, and she scored her 1,000th career point early in the contest. Hunter's big night was cut short however, when she had to leave the game in the second half due to a dislocated shoulder. 

For No.3 Cedarville (22-3, 13-1), the victory extended their winning streak to 14 games. Cedarville has not lost since Dec. 17.

Notre Dame remained close through the first half of the opening stanza. The Falcons were tied up at 10-10, at the 12:58-mark, but the Lady Jackets went on an 13-0 run over the next four minutes, and never looked back. 

The Lady Jackets shot an incredible 54.5 percent (18-for-33) in the first half to help them pull away. NDC outscored Cedarville in the second half, but the 24-point deficit was too much to overcome. Notre Dame outscored the Lady Jackets, 12-5, over the first three minutes of the second half, and cut the deficit down to 18 (55-37), at the 16:51-mark, but Cedarville never lost control. The Falcons were able to drop the deficit to 14, (66-52) at the 9:42-mark, but that was as close as they would get the rest of the night.

Hunter's 15 points paced the Falcons, while #Kealy McNally# added 14 and #Chelsea Andorka# added 11. McNally, #Tracy Payne# and #Paris Pugliese# each added five rebounds, while #Lauren Macer# added four assists. 

Both teams had a tough time knocking down 3-point shots. The Falcons were 0-for-9 in the first half from 3-point land and shot just 15.0 percent (3-for-20) for the game while the Lady Jackets hit just 15.7 percent (3-for-19) beyond the arc. Cedarville also out-rebounded the Falcons 45-31.

Aubrey Siemon and Alison Lemon paced the Lady Jackets with 20 points each, while Lydia Miller added 12 points and Caitlyn Brooks contributed with 11. Siemon was the game's leading rebounder with 17 boards.

Saturday's game marked the second in a string of three consecutive road tilts for Notre Dame. Up next, the Falcons will finish the three-game stretch, when they travel to Rochester, N.Y., on Tuesday to face Roberts Wesleyan. Tip-off against the Lady Raiders is slated for 6:00 p.m.


NOTES FROM THE NEST …

JACKET JITTERS: The Falcons are 1-7 against the Lady Jackets all-time. Their lone victory against Cedarville occurred back in Nov. 2007 at Murphy Gymnasium. The Falcons are 0-4 all-time in Cedarville. Saturday's matchup was the first between the two teams in Cedarville, since the Lady Jackets defeated the Falcons, 85-56, in 2006 in the AMC Championship game.

HALF-N-HALF: The Falcons have outscored the opposition, 901-753, in the second half this season. NDC has overcome double digit deficits at halftime two times over their last ten games. However, they've shot the ball much better in the first half. NDC is shooting 46.5 percent (47-for-101) in the opening stanza over their last three games.

MILENNIUM MILESTONE: Hunter's 15 point performance made her the ninth player in program history to reach 1,000 points for her career. The Jamestown, N.Y., native is ninth on the all-time scoring list with 1,011 points. The junior center is the program's leader in field goal percentage, knocking down 61.6 percent (418-678) of her shots in three years at NDC.

BALANCED ATTACK: Four Falcons have scored in double figures, in three out of NDC's last five games. The Blue & White have had three or more players score in double figures in eight out of their last ten contests.

GRAND MCNALLY: McNally has scored in double figures in nine out of her last ten games. The junior from Rocky River, Ohio, scored in double figures in four of her first 13 games, but has really turned it on over the past month. She's averaging 16.7 ppg over her last nine.