SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – In her first game as a head coach,
Lauren Macer led the Notre Dame College women's basketball team to a 74-72 overtime victory against Mercyhurst on Saturday.
The teams battled in the first quarter in an early game of streaks that ended with the Lakers leading 15-13 after the first 10 minutes. MU then scored 11 of the first 13 points in the second quarter to go up 26-15 and eventually take a 30-23 lead into halftime.
Notre Dame struggled shooting in the first half as the team made just six of its 37 attempts for 16.2 percent shooting compared to Mercyhurst's 45 percent (9-20).
The Falcons closed the gap to six points in the third quarter at 43-37 before coming alive in the final 10 minutes with a full court press that caused multiple turnovers.
Overall, the Lakers turned the ball over 20 times in the second half, but in the fourth quarter alone, NDC stole the ball nine times.
Katie Karalic and
Marisa Finazzo led the team with seven and six steals, respectively.
"I would say that we're one of the quickest teams with our guards and even our posts so we have the leisure of pressing in full court," Finazzo said. "We have a lot of good on-ball defenders and we're good in the backcourt. It was working for us. We worked on rotating all week in practice and I think our on-ball guards did a terrific job to put us in those positions."
Not only were the Falcons able to force the ball out of their opponents hands, but they were able to convert on those opportunities as more than half (38) of the team's point came off turnovers.
Macer knew that the press would be there if the team needed to use it after seeing it in practice. After the game she pointed out her team's basketball IQ and quickness as keys in making it work.
It wasn't just offensive chances that Notre Dame was able to create with the press, but defensive pressure once the ball was on the Lakers offensive end.
"It takes away 10 seconds of their shot clock and then the intensity picks up when we know we can close them out in 20 seconds," Finazzo said. "When you see an effective press it transitions into the half court defense as well."
As things were clicking in the fourth quarter, the Falcons earned a three-point lead with seven seconds left to play after a fast-break layup by Karalic off a steal.
With only a few ticks left, the Lakers leading scorer, Maria Lapertosa found a three-pointer to tie the game 62-62 and force overtime. Lapertosa finished the game with 27 points and 11 rebounds. She made a total of six shots from beyond the arc.
"Our game plan was to foul after a couple of seconds, but we weren't able to do it," said Macer on the last play of regulation. "But we kept the momentum we had in the second half going into overtime and I think that helped us."
Mercyhurst went on a five-point run to start overtime before NDC went on a five-point run of its own to tie the game once again. The Lakers then went up 72-69 after being fouled on back-to-back possessions.
With 15 seconds to go, Finazzo hit a three-point shot to tie the game. And just as she did in the fourth quarter, Karalic stole the ball and made a layup to give the Falcons a two-point lead and the win.
"Honestly in those situations I don't think about it much, the intensity of those moments controls everything," Finazzo said on her three-pointer. "I didn't plan on taking that shot, but the momentum was there and I felt confident shooting."
Finazzo led the team with 21 points and five assists. She scored 17 of her 21 points after an adjustment at halftime.
"We struggled early trying to find the gaps, but we realized Mercyhurst was having trouble containing Marisa," Macer said. "We decided to spread out the floor and let her attack to take advantage of what we had. She played hard and fought through possessions. She played composed and came out as a leader in this game."
Seina Adachi and Karalic also scored in the double-digits with 18 and 13, respectively. Adachi struggled shooting early in the game, but hit multiple clutch free throws and was key in creating turnovers for the Falcons.
"That's part of her growth," Macer said. "When she had games like that last year she would kind of shut down. We worked with her this summer on staying positive. She created a lot of points for us on tipped passes and just being around the ball. I wanted her to stay on the court and push through it."
Kim Cook led the team with seven rebounds while Finazzo had five.
Notre Dame plays No. 10 California (Pa.) tomorrow, November 12, at 4 p.m. in Murphy Gymnasium.
