Box Score
NORTH CANTON, Ohio -- Freshman Martha Nagbe led a trio of players in double figures with 16 points as Notre Dame defeated Walsh 73-65 on Saturday afternoon to complete the season sweep.
 
The victory for the Falcons (15-11) was their fifth in a row, and gives eight wins in the last nine games. The win also gives Notre Dame its second straight victory over the Cavaliers and its third in four games.
 
The loss for the Cavaliers (14-16) marks its fourth in the last five games. Last season the Cavaliers finished 30-5 losing in the NAIA Final Four.
 
Nagbe led all scorers with 16 points while adding seven rebounds. Sophomore Danielle Ledrich provided 15 points and five rebounds, freshman Molly Ritz scored 15 points while pulling down a game-high nine rebounds, and senior Alex Dackin scored seven points and collected eight rebounds for the Falcons in the win.

Kristi Yoder scored 15 points and Daniella Ciccarone scored 13 points on 9-of-9 shooting from the charity stripe in the loss for Cavaliers. 

Walsh opened a 9-4 lead when Megan Hogg made her first of two baskets when she received a pass from Mandi Swickard. 

The Falcons responded through Martha Nagbe. The 5-foot-7 gurad went to the foul line for three free throws book ended around a jumper as she started and ended a 5-0 run that tied the game at 9-9 with nearly four minutes gone by in the first half.

As the Falcons knotted the game at nines it signaled the first of seven ties and two lead changes of the first half.

Notre Dame built an eight point lead when Lauren Macer picked Tracy Payne's pocket allowing Brittany Reddy to find Alex Dackin for a 29-21 lead with 5:44 remaining in the first.

Walsh faught back to take a 37-34 lead into the locker room. 

Through the opening 20 minutes the Falcons converted the Cavaliers 12 turnovers into 16 points. Notre Dame committed just six turnovers in the first half.

The second half opened with Nagbe knocking down a jumper to cut the Cavaliers lead to one, 37-36. 

Lauren Macer went to the foul line for a pair of charity shots that started a 6-0 run by the Falcons as the visitors surged to a 42-37 lead. 

After Tracy Payne picked up her second foul sending Brittany Reddy, the first year player from Strongsville, Ohio, gave NDC a 53-45 lead.

Payne responded with a jumper to cut the lead to six (53-47) before fouling Courtney Clark, thus sending the 5-foot-9 guard to the line while picking up her third personal. 

Clark burried both shots to give Notre Dame an eight point lead, 55-47.

After Payne turned the ball over she fouled Reddy sending the Armstrong Atlantic State transfer to the line. The foul also sent the Notre Dame transfer and the Cavaliers season-leading scorer to the bench with her fourth foul -- third in under 40 seconds.

Reddy extended the Falcons lead to 56-47 with 8:04 to play.

The Falcons built a 67-50 lead through an 11-3 run over the next four minutes. That run featured a shot clock buzzer beating 3-pointer by Clark at the 5:45 mark and another by Ledrich at the 4:30 mark.

Notre Dame would maintain its 17 point lead till Kristi Yoder made a jumper with 2:33 to play to cut the lead to 15 (73-58)

Yoder's basket started a 9-0 run by the Cavaliers that ended when the buzzer sounded with Notre Dame earning its 73-65 victory.

Notre Dame used its high pressure defense through the second half to force the host Cavaliers into 11 second half turnovers. The Falcons converted the Walsh miscues into 17 points while the Cavaliers only earned seven points from Notre Dame's six turnovers.


NOTES FROM THE NEST...

Final Four: The Falcons and Cavaliers have played 17 times. Walsh holds a 12-5 record over Notre Dame. However in the last three seasons the Blue & White own a 3-2 record and haven't lost in North Canton since a 75-65 American Mideast Conferene Tournament game on Feb. 23, 2010. That season the Falcons defeated the Cavaliers 102-97 in triple overtime to advance to the AMC Tournament -- freshman Tracy Payne scored a career-high 26 points for NDC in the win. Last season Walsh went 30-5 and advanced to the NAIA National Tournament Final Four however they are 0-2 against the Falcons this season. 

FOUL TROUBLES: Freshman Martha Nagbe has been to the foul line 148 times, converting 73 percent (108-of-148). For the year the 5-foot-7 guard, has averaged 5.7 trips to the foul line. In five contests Nagbe has made at least 10 trips to the charity stripe. Through her first 16 games the Lakewood, Ohio, native made nearly seven trips to the foul line per game(107) and scoring 13.5 points per game. Over the last two games Nagbe has been to the foul line 18 times making 16-of-18 shots while averaging nearly 19 points per game.