HONOLULU – Down 53-32 after three quarter, the Notre Dame College women's basketball (8-4) team climbed its way back into the game to close it within a point, but ultimate lost to No. 7 Drury 63-60.
 
The Falcons had a solid opening 10 minutes to take a 14-9 lead after the first quarter, but the Panthers dominated the second quarter 27-7 to take a 36-21 lead into halftime.
 
In the second half, Drury (11-1) went up by another six points in the third quarter to give the top 10 team a 21-point lead heading into the final quarter. NDC bookended the game with another strong performance in the last 10 minutes.
 
Sparked by a three from Kyleigh Ramlow with nine minutes to play, the Falcons slowly chipped away at the Panthers' lead. NDC made a total of four three-point shots in the fourth quarter, including one by Marisa Finazzo that pushed the game to a one-point difference with 38 seconds remaining.
 
Drury took the clock down to 00:09 before making a layup and final basket of the game. Notre Dame failed to get another shot up in the time left.
 
The Falcons are now 0-3 against top 10 teams this season, but this is the lowest points allowed by the team this year.
 
NDC was led in scoring by Finazzo and Seina Adachi who had nine points each. Finazzo had a well-rounded performance with three assists, three steals and three rebounds. Maggie King also assisted on nine field goals to add to her seven points while Kim Cook led the team with nine rebounds.
 
Notre Dame will play at Chaminade tomorrow, December 18 to finish the team's trip to Hawaii. Tip off is scheduled for 10 p.m. EST.