SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- Notre Dame coach #Dick Deasy# looked for the Falcons to continue its longest conference winning streak in three seasons, Saturday afternoon against Malone. (Box)


The Falcons bench boss was not disappointed as his squad handed Malone its second consecutive loss, 89-48, on Saturday afternoon. The win moves the Falcons to 5-0 in conference play tying Deasy's 2008-9 squad for the longest conference steak and drops the Pioneers to 1-3.

Senior center #Yvette Hunter# scored 19 points, senior forward #Kealy McNally# provided 14 points, and freshman guard #Danielle Ledrich# added 13 points off the bench in the Falcons (No. 25 NAIA-II Women's Basketball poll) win Saturday. Hunter is on a roll, having scored double-digit point totals in 12 straight games through Saturday's home contest. The Jamestown, N.Y. native is averaging 12.78 points per game. A year ago, Hunter's longest stretch was four games on her way to an All-AMC Honorable Mention selection.

Notre Dame broke into the Top-25 of the NAIA-II Coaches' Poll on Dec. 13, after a 14-month hiatus from the rankings. In 2009-10, season, the Falcons were ranked No. 21 in the Coaches' Preseason Poll. … Since the release of the third regular-season poll on Dec. 13, teams ranked in the Top-25 have gone 58-22 (.725). The Blue & White have gone 5-2.

The Falcons (14-4) five-game AMC streak started against Carlow (Pa.) and has been followed by wins over Ursuline, Mount Vernon, and Wilberforce before defeating their third opponent by 40 or more points, 89-48 over Malone.

Malone (5-12) had lost their last game, 49-56 to Ursuline and Hunter and McNally ensured the Pioneers a difficult task from the opening tip. Hunter and McNally combined for 10 straight points pushing the Falcons to an early 10-2 lead. Hunter led three Falcons in double figures at the break with 11 points on five of seven shooting from the floor including shooting 50.0 percent (1-for-2) from behind the three point arc.

"Everyone did a good job running our offense. We moved the ball very well tonight and allowed our posts to make some easy baskets,” Notre Dame coach #Dick Deasy# said. “We got out in transition because we were playing such good defense so our guards could run. It was a good game for everyone.” 

Six of Hunter's baskets came off of feeds from four different players and none was prettier than #Chelsea Andorka#'s mid-air pass into a wide open Hunter to put Notre Dame up 40-16 with 2:19 remaining in the opening half.

Freshman guard, #Courtney Clark# who only had a single assist in the win over Wilberforce to drop her season average to 4.1, had seven assists in 26 minutes of action, tying her career high set on Nov. 21, 2010, in a 102-49 win over Salem International (W.Va.)

Allyson Wilson had 13 points and eight rebounds for the Pioneers, who play Mount Vernon Nazarene on Tuesday.

For the game, Notre Dame shot 57.1 percent (36-for-63) from the field and shot a season high 46.2 percent (12-for-26) from three point land. Despite only going to the foul line six times, the Blue & White shot 83.3 percent (5-for-6). Malone shot 35.6 percent (16-for-45) from the floor including 14.3 percent (1-for-7) from three point territory. The Pioneers went to the line 18 times, making 83.3 percent (15-for-18). Notre Dame lost the battle on the glass 26-30, but forced Malone into 27 turnovers.

The Falcons host Cedarville on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at Murphy Gymnasium.



NOTES FROM THE NEST….


SHARE THE WEALTH: Notre Dame assisted 25 of their 36 made field goals in the Saturday afternoon win over Malone.

SHOOT THE ROCK: The Falcons put up a season high 85 shots in their 91-47 win over Wilberforce.

PRESSURE-COOKER: The Falcons have displayed a high-intensity brand of pressure defense in racking up 14 wins over their first 18 games this season. Notre Dame ranks 10th in the nation (NAIA Division II) in turnover margin (plus-6.9) on the strength of 12.8 steals per game (11th). NDC has had 15 or more thefts eight times this season. They had 14 steals in their last game -- a 89-48 win over Malone on Saturday afternoon. … That win against Malone marked the Falcons' third largest margin of victory (41 points) this season. It also marked the fifth time this season the NDC defense has held a foe under 50 points.