Box Score
URBANA, Ohio -- A Tuesday night game in Central Ohio was a clash of teams on winning streaks, with Notre Dame taking on Urbana. Both teams had managed to recently even their won-loss records after early struggles, and on Tuesday it was NDC that vaulted above .500 with a victory.

The Falcons defeated the Blue Knights, 63-54, as Notre Dame earned its 10th straight win. Lauren Macer and Molly Ritz both posted double-doubles in the contest which snapped a five-game win streak for Urbana (13-14).

Macer scored the final nine points of the game, lifting Notre Dame (12-11) out of a late 54-54 tie. She finished with 23 points.

The Falcons jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the opening minutes of the game, with the Blue Knights missing each of their first four attempts from the floor. Urbana then rallied, scoring the next eight points of the contest.

By the midpoint of the half, NDC had crafted a 19-11 lead with Danielle Ledrich (two 3-pointers) and Molly Ritz (3-for-3, six points) providing the bulk of the offense for the visitors.

A staunch Notre Dame defense made Urbana scratch and claw for every basket, and those baskets were few and far between. By the five-minute mark, UU was just 5-of-22 (22.7 percent) from the field, but NDC's lead was just five (19-14) because the Falcon offense hit a cold spell that saw them go more than nine minutes without posting a single point on the board.

Turnovers contributed to Notre Dame's offensive woes; the Falcons finished the opening half with 10. But NDC mitigated those miscues with a dominant performance on the boards, out-rebounding the Blue Knights, 30-16.

The two teams went into their respective locker rooms at halftime with Notre Dame leading the defensive slugfest, 20-15. The two teams' leading scorers -- Ciara Geiger and Lauren Macer, both of whom came into the game ranked in the NCAA-II's top-30 in scoring -- were held to a combined 2-of-15 mark from the floor over the first 20 minutes. Notre Dame shot just 26.9 percent (7-of-26) in the first, and that was a fair rate higher than what the home five produced: 5-of-29, 17.2 percent.

Urbana went on a 6-2 run to start the second, cutting the Falcon advantage to one (22-21). A Macer three keyed a 9-1 counterpunch run for NDC, but the Blue Knights then regained momentum and when Andrea Vogel converted a bucket off a fast break at 12:26, UU took a 35-34 lead.

The next few minutes were an even exchange, but a Danielle Ledrich jumper at 7:59 ignited a 10-0 run for the Falcons. The end of that run had NDC in front by nine, 52-43.

Urbana then went on a shutout run of its own, outscoring the Falcons, 7-0, over the next five minutes. When UU's Jessica Saffold knocked down a jump shot at 2:48, NDC led by two, 52-50. A minute later the score was knotted up at 54-54.

And from that point on, starting at the 1:48-mark, it was all-Notre Dame. And all-Lauren Macer.

Macer scored the final nine points of the game, with a field goal and seven free throws. For good measure, Macer and Molly Ritz each garnered a steal over the final 108 seconds, and NDC walked off the court victorious for a 10th consecutive time.

For the game, Macer scored 23 and grabbed 11 rebounds. Ritz notched her sixth double-double of the season, with a 14-and-16 performance. Nine of her 16 boards came on the offensive glass. As a team, NDC out-rebounded Urbana, 57-31.

Danielle Ledrich scored a season-high 19 points on a 6-of-10 shooting night. Lauren Langenderfer had 10 rebounds. Ritz garnered two blocked shots and three steals. As a team, Notre Dame shot 33.3 percent (19-of-57) from the field and 80.8 percent (21-of-26) from the free-throw line.

In its win streak, the Falcons have shot 79.7 percent (216-of-271) from the free-throw line.

The Blue Knights shot 28.3 percent (17-of-60) from the floor and were a plus-seven (19-12) in turnover margin. Urbana's leading scorer was Ciara Geiger, who came into the game averaging 20 points per contest. On Tuesday night, the Falcon defense held her to 12 points on 4-of-18 shooting.

Notre Dame's now-10-game win streak marks the program's longest since Dec. 2-Jan. 4, 2004-05, when NDC rattled off 11 consecutive victories. The Falcons are now 5-7 in their all-time series against the Blue Knights.

The Falcons will look to keep their win streak going on Saturday when they face the Lady Jackets of Cedarville University. Tip-off in the front half of a women's-men's doubleheader at Murphy Gymnasium is slated for 2 p.m.