Box Score WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. -- The Notre Dame Falcons became the first team this season to knock off No. 13 West Liberty in Mountain East Conference play, as they extended their winning streak to nine games, in a huge, 65-61 upset victory over the Hilltoppers on Monday evening.
The Falcons (12-6, 9-3) have now won nine in a row, which is their longest winning streak since the 2012-13 season where they won 10 in a row, and they have now won six straight on the road. The loss for No. 13 West Liberty (16-2, 12-1 MEC) snapped a 14-game winning streak, and was their first in nine games at home this season, as well as their first in conference play.
Notre Dame came away with 14 steals on the evening, seven of those coming from
Martha Nagbe, scored 27 points off 24 West Liberty turnovers, and used a huge performance from their bench, which outscored the Hilltoppers' bench, 26-6.
Both sides battled in a high scoring first quarter, with the Hilltoppers taking a slight, 18-17 edge at the end of one, before the Falcons kicked it into high gear in the second quarter, outscoring the Hilltoppers 18-8 in the second stanza to take a 35-26 halftime lead.
The first half saw the Falcons come away with eight steals, and Notre Dame's active hands led to great results on the opposite end of the floor, as the Falcons scored 15 of their 35 first half points off of West Liberty turnovers. Nagbe and
Lauren Langenderfer combined for six of those eight steals. In addition, the NDC depth was on display, as the Falcon bench was responsible for 14 first half points, while the Hilltopper bench produced just four.
The aforementioned big second quarter began with five straight points from the Falcons.
Terrina Robinson turned a steal into a jumper for the first two points of the second quarter, and on NDC's next possession,
Alyssa Kraus hit a 3-poitner to give NDC a 22-18 advantage.
Those two big buckets triggered an incredible 12-4 run over the first eight minutes of the quarter. During that stretch, the NDC defense put the clamps on West Liberty, as the Hilltoppers hit just 2-of-12 (16.6-percent) shots from the floor, allowing NDC to take a 29-22 advantage.
Kim Cook was responsible for five of NDC's final six points of the half, while NDC held West Liberty to just a pair of field goals inside the final two minutes of the second quarter, as the Falcons went into the break with a nine point advantage.
Early in the third quarter, the Falcons hit a bit of a dry spell, as they missed on their first six shots from the floor, until
Celine Mangan got them out of their funk by hitting a big 3-pointer at the 5:43-mark to give NDC a 38-30 lead.
West Liberty's offense responded, by converting on four big buckets over their next four possessions to trim the deficit back down to three (41-38), and the Falcons finished the third quarter with a slight (43-39) advantage heading into the final quarter of play.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Hilltoppers were able to trim the deficit to one (45-44) before Cook hit another 3-pointer and Nagbe buried a pair of free throws to bring the NDC lead back to six (50-44) over the next two minutes of the contest.
Langenderfer hit a jumper following a steal from Cook with 4:34 left in the contest to give the Falcons a 54-47 lead, but West Liberty rallied over the next two minutes, getting a trio of 3-pointers from Johnie Olkosky during that stretch, tying the game at 58-58 with 2:49 to play.
Just over a minute later, Kraus hit a jumper to put the Falcons back in the driver's seat. Both teams came up empty on the offensive end over the next minute of the contest, until Cook connected on another huge trifecta with 41 seconds left to give NDC a 63-58 advantage, which would prove to be the final dagger.
Nagbe was NDC's leading scorer, with 16 points, getting 10 of those from the charity stripe, while pulling down six rebounds and adding three assists to go along with a game high, seven steals. Cook scored 11 points, getting nine of those from beyond the arc, while grabbing five boards. Kraus and Mangan each added nine points while Langenderfer added eight, to go along with four steals.
The Falcons are in action again on Thursday, Jan. 28, when they return home to play host to WV Wesleyan at Murphy Gymnasium. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
