Box Score SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- Notre Dame saw an impressive opponent on Saturday afternoon at Murphy Gymnasium, a 13-win Central State that pressed the Falcons early before NDC prevailed, 88-76.
Notre Dame (10-11) won its eighth straight and was itself impressive in handling an eight-point halftime deficit. Senior gaud
Lauren Macer scored 29 points and sophomore forward
Molly Ritz notched her fifth double-double of the season with a 10-point, 17-rebound afternoon.
The story of the first half for the Falcons came from their offensive struggles. NDC hsdrive into the lane and had to rely on an array of contested jump shots and their three-point shooting to keep them in the game. The Falcons did however get to the free-throw line and went 14-of-16 (87.5 percent) in the opening stanza.
Lauren Macer was a big part of the success from the line, going 9-for-10 (90 percent) and lead the Falcons with 17 first-half points.
While the Falcons were settling for jump shots, Central State was pounding the ball down low, outscoring Notre Dame, 22-8, in the
paint. The Lady Marauders also outscored the Falcons on points off of turnovers, 9-0.
Central State's sound defense caused Notre Dame to shoot 28.1 percent (9-of-32) from the field in the first half, and after an 11-1 run by CSU in the final 3:04 of the half, the home five went into halftime trailing, 44-36.
Notre Dame came out of the locker room focused and aggressive. The Falcons opened with a series of runs, starting with a 14-2 run. A subsequent 12-2 run vaulted NDC to a 64-52 lead with 9:24 remaining.
NDC used a much more balanced attack in the second-half, scoring points in the paint and knocking down three-pointers. The Falcons outscored the Lady Marauders 52-32 in the second-half on their way the 88-76 victory.
The Falcons shot an impressive 38-of-46 (82.6 percent) from the line. The 46 free-throw attempts were easily a season high.
Notre Dame also held the Lady Marauders to 27% (10-of-37) from the field in the second-half.
With their win over the Lady Marauders (13-7), Notre Dame continues a streak that started against the same CSU program on Jan. 8. On that night, NDC downed Central State, 88-84.
The Falcons will try to improve their record to .500 this tThursday against Salem International (Wv.) at 6:30 pm.
