HONOLULU – With a 12-point lead built in the first quarter, the Notre Dame College women's basketball team (9-4) came out on top at Chaminade 76-66.
 
NDC has now come out on top in the opening 10 minutes of each of the team's past four games, averaging a +10.75-scoring differential over that span.
 
"We have been focusing on having good starts this season, but need to keep working to string the entire game together as we move forward," head coach Lauren Macer said.
 
Seina Adachi, Katie Karalic and Marisa Finazzo each hit the double-digit scoring mark with big quarters from each player.
 
Adachi started the game off strong with seven of the final nine points for the Falcons in the first quarter. Throughout the third quarter, Karalic took over scoring duty with eight points while assisting on a three-pointer to account for half of the 22 points the team scored. Finazzo then took over to finish the game with seven points in the fourth quarter.
 
The three combined for 38 points and eight assists throughout the competition. Karalic led with 14 points while Finazzo had 13 and Adachi finished with 11. Senior forward Kim Cook played an important role as well with 14 rebounds and five assists to lead the team in each category.
 
"We're a team," Macer said. "We win together. We lose together. It's great that the team trusts each other to step up when needed in different areas and moments. Throughout our season, many different players have sparked us and it's important that we keep getting better and keep trusting each other."
 
Defensively, Cook blocked one shot while stealing two balls. Adachi played well on the defensive end as well with four steals and a block.
 
The win is the furthest road game (4,562 miles) won by Notre Dame in school history. The Falcons won a neutral-site game against Lake Superior State in Oahu, Hawaii (4,564 miles) on December 20, 2013.
 
The trip has been both a learning experience on the court and a memory-making trip.
 
"Hawaii has been a great experience for the team," Macer said. "They have been able to experience a new place all together. It's great for the moral of the team.
 
"The team adjusted well to the time change and travel. It's good for them to have to adjust and mentally focus on what is in front of us and controlling what we can control. We can't control what time we play, but we can control when we go to sleep, when we wake up and how we take care of our bodies."
 
Ultimately, winning games is the goal for any team, but earning this experience and seeing it come to fruition was a different kind of victory for Macer's players.
 
"The team worked so hard fundraising for this trip, so being able to see that hard work pay off is a reward within itself."
 
The Falcons will end the fall semester with nine wins and a 5-1 Mountain East record. NDC is currently second in the MEC behind Glenville State (9-1, 6-0 MEC). The Pioneers play one final game this semester, but the two teams will meet in their first game back in January.
 
Notre Dame will travel to Glenville State on January 4 for a 5:30 p.m. tip.