SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – The Notre Dame College women's basketball dropped an 81-67 decision to the UVA-Wise Cavaliers in the first round of the Mountain East Conference tournament on Tuesday nightat Murphy Gymnasium.
The loss concluded the season for the Falcons, who finish 14-13 overall and 11-12 in the MEC. The Cavaliers (10-17, 6-17 MEC) progress to the second round of the MEC tournament, where the will face the second seeded West Liberty Hilltoppers.
The Cavaliers shot out to an early 5-0 lead, but the Falcons tied the game 9-9 at the 14:59 point of the first half, courtesy of 9 points from
Martha Nagbe. The Cavaliers would put together a 10-0 run to lead 19-9, with 10:11 remaining in the first half. NDC were able to close the gap to seven, 29-22, after a 7-2 run between 6:11 and 4:40. However, the Cavaliers finished the half the stronger of the two teams to lead 41-32 at halftime.
The Cavaliers continued their strong run at the start of the second half, putting together a 12-5 run in the first five minutes of the half, to lead 53-37. The Falcons then went on a 5-0 run, with a
Molly Ritz layup that cut the Wise's lead to 11, 53-42 with 13:33 remaining.
UVA-Wise, however continued to respond and led by 19, 65-46, with 9:49 to go in the game. The Falcons increased their tempo and went on a 14-8 run, bringing the deficit down to 7, 73-60 with 4:28, senior
Erin Entinghe accounted for 10 points during that stretch.
It was a case of too little too late for the Falcons though as UVA-Wise closed out the game to claim an 81-67 victory.
The Falcons were led
Martha Nagbe who had 23 points (8-for-17).
Erin Entinghe scored 12 points (6-for-11) and had 8 rebounds in the final game of her career. NDC shot 41-percent (25-for-61) from the field and 30-percent (6-for-20) from behind the three point arc.
The Cavaliers were led by Taylor Sandidge who finished with a double-double, 11 points and 10 boards. UVA-Wise shot 44.9-percent (31-for-69) from the field and 36.8-percent (7-for-19) from three and shot 80-percent (12-for-15) from the free throw line.
