Box Score
VIENNA, W. Va. -- After a couple of losses in close calls, Notre Dame came out strong and handily defeated the Ohio Valley (W. Va.) Fighting Scots, 70-50, on Monday.

The Falcons (1-3), who lost their last two games by a combined three points, bolted to an early lead and played solid defense en route to the road win against the Fighting Scots (0-2).

Guard Lauren Macer scored a game-high 25 points and was one of 13 NDC players to find the scoring column.  Forcing a season-high 29 turnovers while committing just 10 of their own, the Falcons were a plus-19 in turnover margin.

For Notre Dame (1-3), the win marked the team's first of the season.  It followed a pair of games that went down to the final 10 seconds in 56-55 and 57-55 losses to Le Moyne-N.Y. (Nov. 12) and Clarion-Pa. (Nov. 17), respectively.

“Our offense clicked early on,” said Head Coach Katie Hine, “and defensively we got after it all night up and down the roster, and I thought that fed into success at the other end.”

The 29 turnovers forced by the Falcons netted 26 points.

Notre Dame, which had struggled in shooting the ball over its first three games, came out strong in the opening half with an offense firing on all cylinders. The Falcons at one point hit 11-of-15 from the floor in building a commanding 27-6 lead by the 9:54-mark in the first half.  Lauren Macer fueled that early surge, scoring 12 points over the first 10 minutes of action.

By the six-minute mark, NDC had built its lead to 25, and by halftime the Blue & White had blitzed their way 43 points and a 27-point lead.  The 16 points allowed in the first half marked the fewest NDC had given up in a half since Jan. 25, 2011.

In the second half it would be Notre Dame that struggled to score.  The Falcons cooled off from the field and struggled mightily at the free-throw line.  OVU cut the NDC lead to 18 (52-34) by the seven-minute mark, with the Falcons scoring only nine points in the first 13 minutes of the second stanza.

The defense bailed out the visiting five, though, with Notre Dame forcing numerous turnovers and slowing down any potential comeback bid.  Lauren Macer led a late push by the Falcon offense.  Macer knocked down a pair of treys amid a 7-0 run at one point, and NDC finished off the game with a 20-point margin of victory despite being outscored, 34-27, over the final 20 minutes of play.

The Falcons finished the game 9-of-24 (37.5 percent) from beyond the 3-point arc, shaking off the rust of a 11-for-52 (21.2 percent) performance from 3-point land in their first three games.  Macer hit five of those nine treys on the way to her 25.  She also filled the box score with five assists and three steals.

Macer's 25 points were backed up by Molly Ritz and Megan Scarberry each scoring eight.  Ritz and Jacki Harrison each had six rebounds to lead the team, but the Falcons were out-rebounded for a fourth straight game.  OVU out-boarded NDC, 50-36.

Notre Dame had 19 steals in the game, with six players logging two or more.  Overall, NDC forced 29 turnovers -- its most in a game since Dec. 28 last season.  In committing just 10 turnovers of their own, the Falcons hit a single-game mark they hadn't seen since Nov. 21, 2010 -- a stretch a 56 games.

NDC shot 39.7 percent (25-of-63) from the floor and only slightly better (11-of-25, 44.0 percent) from the foul line.  Ohio Valley shot 30.9 percent (17-of-55) from the floor.

The Fighting Scots were led by Shelby Way, who scored 22 points.  OVU's Amy Brooks had a game-high 13 rebounds.

With Notre Dame holding Ohio Valley to 50 points on Monday, the Blue & White have now held foes to 60 points or less in all four games this season and 13 times in their last 19 games, dating back to last season.