This week: Notre Dame College hosts the MEC/PSAC Challenge as Mercyhurst and California (Pa.) come to South Euclid to play against Notre Dame and West Liberty. NDC will play Mercyhurst on Saturday, November 11, at 6 p.m. and California on Sunday, November 12, at 4 p.m.
 
Records: The Falcons went 15-13 last season after finishing the regular season with an 11-1 record in their final 12 games. Mercyhurst was 24-8 in the 2016-17 season while California was 30-4.
 
Coaches Corner: Lauren Macer is in her first season as the head coach of the Notre Dame women's basketball program. She currently has a record of 0-0. Deanna Richard is in her 10th season with Mercyhurst. Richard led the Lakers to a 24-8 record last season. Jess Strom is in her sixth season as the head coach at Cal Pa. and her 11th season overall as a member of the Vulcans coaching staff. Strom has a record of 109-35.
 
Rankings: California (Pa.) was ranked No. 10 in the October 31 Women's Basketball Coaches Association poll. Neither of the other teams playing received votes.
 
Series History: NDC is 2-1 against Mercyhurst and 0-3 against California (Pa.) since joining the NCAA Division II ranks in the 2012-13 season.
 
Noting the Falcons: Notre Dame graduated its leading scorer, Kelsey Miller, from last season, but return the rest of the top five in scoring. Senior Kim Cook returns as a known name in the Mountain East conference as she ranked in the top 10 in the MEC in several categories, including rebounding (7.0 per game), field goal percentage (.459), blocks (0.75 per game) and assist-to-turnover ratio (+1.55 per game). Cook averaged 10.3 points per game while Seina Adachi averaged 10.2. Adachi, a sophomore, ranked third on the team in scoring despite only starting in 10 of the team's 28 games. Her 22.9 minutes per game were the lowest of the top six scorers last season. The Falcons played an exhibition at the University of Akron on November 5. NDC lost 66-39 in the competition where Marisa Finazzo led the team with 10 points; Cook finished with seven points and three rebounds while Adachi had six points, four rebounds and three assists.  
 
Noting the Lakers: Mercyhurst saw its season end in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in a 86-75 loss to conference foe California (Pa.) last year. In 2016-17 the Lakers led the PSAC in rebounding margin, grabbing 5.9 more boards per game than their opponents. Mercyhurst graduated all three of their top scorers from a year ago and will rely on youth as they only have three upperclassmen on the roster. Sophomore guard, Maria Lapertosa is the Lakers top returner after averaging 8.3 points and 3.4 rebounds last year.
 
Noting the Vulcans: California (Pa.) returns from a solid showing in the 2016-17 season. The Vulcans made it to the third round of the NCAA Tournament before suffering a loss to No. 18 Virginia Union. Cal has been one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II over the years as they have made the Tournament eight of the last 10 seasons and won the Championship in 2014-15. Over the last three seasons, the Vulcans have a record of 87-14. Last season, despite leading the PSAC in scoring with 80.6 pointer per game, California made less than three 3s per game.
 
MEC/PSAC Challenge History: Since the start of the MEC/PSAC Challenge in the 2014-15 season, each conference has won the event once while tying once. The series has rotated hosts each year between California, West Liberty, Mercyhurst and now Notre Dame. In the first season, the conferences tied 2-2. In the second season, the MEC came out on top 3-1 and in last year the PSAC teams swept going 4-0. The Falcons have a record of 2-4 in the Challenge while Mercyhurst is 2-4 and California is 5-1.