Box Score
SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- In what was a closely contested battle from start to finish, the Notre Dame College women's basketball team fell short at home against the visiting Shepherd Rams, losing 72-61.

Scoring began at a slower-than-usual pace, as the Falcons led 3-2 five minutes into the game. Ten points later for each side, the Falcons still led by just one, 13-12, after a Ciara Reed jumper with 11:36 left in the first half.

Shepherd began to find some offensive success as a 11-1 run put the Rams out in front, but a pair of Lauren Langenderfer free throws cut the deficit to 23-16.
The Rams then used a 10-5 run to extend their lead to 33-21, but a pair of Martha Nagbe free throws began to chip away at the score. Nagbe's free throws ignited a 10-0 run by the Falcons, cutting Shepherd's lead to just two, 33-31.

A last-minute 3-pointer gave the Rams three more points, and the Falcons went into halftime trailing by just five, 36-31.

Just over six minutes into the second half, a 3-pointer from Alyssa Kraus chopped the deficit to just one, 45-44, with 13:43 remaining. Reed then nailed a 3-pointer of her own to give the Falcons the lead, and a lay-up from Nagbe gave NDC a 49-45 lead with 12:34 remaining.

Responding to the Falcons' run, the Rams used an 11-6 spurt to take a 56-55 lead. Nagbe drained a pair of free throws to tie the game and give the Falcons the 57-56 lead with 7:04 to play.

An and-one play from the Rams gave Shepherd a narrow lead again, 59-57, and Rachel Johnson was subbed into the game for Shepherd. Johnson heated up quickly for the Rams, making four straight baskets against a tough Falcons defense.

Eight straight points from Johnson left the Falcons trailing by six, 67-61, with 2:48 remaining.

In dire need of a defensive stop and an offensive run, the Falcons came up empty-handed as Shepherd scored to push the lead to eight, 69-61, with 1:01 remaining in the game.

From there, the Rams held on to beat the Falcons by a final score of 72-61.

Nagbe led the Falcons with 17 points while Langenderfer dropped in 11 points for NDC. Kelsey Miller led the team with seven rebounds on the night, while Nagbe and Langenderfer both reeled in six rebounds each.

With the loss, the Falcons fall to 13-9 on the season, including a 9-7 mark in Mountain East Conference play.

The Falcons will return to action on Saturday, February 7 at home against Fairmont State. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.