URBANA, Ohio – The Notre Dame College women's basketball team dropped a 78-74 decision on the road to Urbana University, Saturday afternoon at the Grimes Center in Mountain East Conference action.
The Falcons (14-12, 11-11 MEC) held a 35-33 lead at halftime but were unable to hold onto the lead in the second half as the Blue Knights (17-9, 14-8 MEC) shot 59.3 percent in the second half to claim a 78-74 victory.
Urbana started the game strongly and shot out to a 20-6 lead at the 12:21 mark in the first half. The Falcons, however would respond putting together a 18-4 run to tie the game, 24-24, with 6:31 remaining in the half. NDC would hold a 35-33 lead at halftime thanks to a
Martha Nagbe steal and layup to close out the half.
The game was tied 38-38 with 17:42 remaining before the claimed a lead that they would not give up. The Falcons pushed the Blue Knights all the way and trailed by just two, 73-71, with 1:46 remaining in the game. A
Martha Nagbe three pointer with 28 seconds remaining gave the Falcons a chance but the blue knights would hit their free throws and close out a 78-74 victory.
The Falcons were led by
Martha Nagbe who had 19 points and
Courtney Clark who had 11 points.
Alyssa Kraus equaled her season best with 10 points and
Molly Ritz led the Falcons on the boards with 10 rebounds.
Urbana were led by DeVonyea Johnson, who had a game-high 26 points.
"Free throws were really the difference in this game," said Head Coach
Katie Hine. "Today we took a big hit at the line and needed to shoot better. We will regroup and get ready for the Tournament, it's a short turn around and no we need to focus on Tuesday."
The Falcons finish the regular season record of 14-2, 11-11 in MEC play which secures them the seventh seed in the MEC tournament and a home game against the tenth seeded UVA-Wise Cavaliers at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday in a first round match up.
