Box Score
WHEELING, W.Va -- Riding a five game win-streak going into this weekend, the Notre Dame College women's basketball team had momentum on their side going into Saturday's matchup with the Wheeling Jesuit Cardinals. Unfortunately, the Falcons fell short on the road at the Cardinals, losing their first game since January 5 by a final score of 55-49.

The game began at a slow pace as both sides struggled to find the bottom of the net early on. Five minutes into the game, the Falcons only had one free throw to their name, but only traled 5-1. However, the Falcons found consecutive buckets from Martha Nagbe and Lexi Hassing, tying the game at five with 13:49 left in the first half.

NDC continued to have the upper hand as the a pair of Jessica Garcia free throws gave the Falcons a 16-12 lead midway through the first half. The back-and-forth battle continued throughout the remainder of the first half, and the Falcons went into halftime trailing by just one, 23-22.

In the second half, neither team could take control of the game and the score continued to be close.

A 3-pointer from Ciara Reed gave the Falcons a four point lead, 32-28, with 13:25 remaining in the game. Both teams continued to battle for the lead, exchanging lay-ups and free throws to keep the game close. 

Minutes later with 7:08 remaining, the Falcons led 40-35 after a Molly Ritz lay-up, with the assist from Nagbe. A Cardinals score cut the deficit to just three, but Ritz scored another lay-up, this time assisted by Alyssa Kraus. A jumper from WJU's Jaila Bryant cut NDC's lead to three again, but Ritz responded with a pair of free throws to push the lead back to five again, 44-39, with 5:38 remaining.

On the ensuing Cardinals possession, Nagbe forced a steal and turned that into an easy lay-up, pushing the Falcons lead to seven, 46-39.

However, the host Cardinals used their homecourt advantage to respond with a 9-0 run, taking the 48-46 lead with 2:11 remaining.

From there, the Falcons struggled to score when needed, falling short to the Cardinals by a final score of 55-49.

With the loss, the Falcons fall to 11-7 overall, including 7-5 in Mountain East Conference action. 

The Falcons return home on Thursday, Jan. 29 to square off against the visiting West Liberty Hilltoppers. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.