Box Score
WHEELING, W.Va -- Monday night marked a heartbreaking loss for the Notre Dame College women's basketball team, who fell short in the final seconds to Wheeling Jesuit by a final score of 73-72. The host Cardinals hit late free throws as the Falcons dropped a narrow Mountain East Conference road matchup.

The Cardinals took control of the game early, taking a 17-8 lead over NDC with 1:44 left in the first quarter. However, the Falcons responded with a run of their own.

Jessica Garcia scored consecutive lay-ups for the Falcons, with Martha Nagbe assisting on the second basket. Nagbe then assisted Celine Mangan on a 3-pointer, completing an 8-0 run for NDC as the Falcons trailed by just two, 17-15, after one quarter.

An and-one play from Lauren Langenderfer continued the Falcons' run and also gave NDC an 18-17 lead early in the second quarter. Langenderfer also scored the final two buckets of the first half for the Falcons, and NDC went into halftime with a narrow 38-37 lead over WJU.

The back-and-forth battle between both sides continued throughout much of the the third quarter.

Midway through the third, WJU took a six-point lead over NDC, 49-43, but the Falcons responded with consecutive threes from Mangan and Alyssa Kraus to tie the score at 49. NDC went into the fourth quarter trailing by three, 56-53, after a late 3-pointer from the Cardinals.

In the first few minutes of the fourth quarter, the Cardinals extended their lead to 67-59 to take an eight-point lead with 5:18 remaining. But the Falcons again fought back.

Kim Cook drained a 3-pointer with an assist from Nagbe, who then scored a basket of her own to cut the deficit to just three, 67-64.

With just 1:20 remaining, Mangan hit a jumper to cut the deficit to just two, 70-68. After forcing a defensive stop, the Falcons tied the game on offense as Garcia dished a nice pass to Lexi Hassing, who scored a lay-up to tie the score at 70 with 32 seconds left.

With the score tied at 70, the Falcons again forced a defensive stop as a steal by Mangan gave the Falcons a chance to win the game. Holding the ball until the final seconds, Mangan dished a pass to Nagbe, who drilled a clutch baseline jumper to give NDC a 72-70 lead with four seconds remaining in the game.

On the final possession of the game, the Falcons were called for a late foul that awarded the Cardinals three free throw attempts with less than one second remaining. WJU hit all three free throws as the Falcons dropped a heartbreaker on the road, 73-72.

With the loss, the Falcons fall to 2-3 on the season, including 0-2 in MEC play. NDC will return to action on Sunday, Nov. 29 on the road at Ursuline College. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.