INSTITUTE, W.Va. – After dominating the first quarter, the Notre Dame College women's basketball team (7-3, 4-1 MEC) coasted to an 84-77 victory at West Virginia State (2-6, 2-3 MEC).
 
NDC was able to secure its seventh win of the season with the use of rebounding and passing efficiently.
 
As the visiting team, the Falcons recorded 59 rebounds, including 28 offensive rebounds, compared to WVSU's 39. The players used those 28 offensive boards to score 29 second-chance points.
 
Notre Dame also moved the ball well, assisting on 25 of its 32 field goals. Guard Marisa Finazzo totaled 13 assists, which ties the school record. Finazzo's 13 assists are also an NDC Division II record as her and Kim Cook are the only two players to record 10 or more assists since moving to the NCAA.
 
"She's a point guard that I love having on my team," said head coach Lauren Macer. "She did a great job finding open players and her teammates were ready to shoot at the right time."
 
In the opening quarter, the Falcons took a commanding 26-5 lead, allowing the Yellow Jackets to make just two shots. NDC made 11 shots in the first quarter, including four three-pointers. Nine of those 11 field goals were assisted.
 
In the second quarter, WVSU scored the first 10 points to close the lead to 26-15 before Kyleigh Ramlow halted the four-minute scoring drought with a three. That shot from Ramlow sparked an 11-3 run for the Falcons, but the Yellow Jackets got back to its shut-down defense to end the quarter on another 10 straight points.
 
With no scoring in the final 3:50 of the first half, NDC saw its lead cut to single digits to go into the locker room leading 37-28.
 
The teams went back and forth in the second half, but things came out fairly even as the Yellow Jackets led the scoring 49-47 in the final 20 minutes.
 
"The first quarter definitely helped us as the game went on," Macer said. "We started off well, and West Virginia State found their shooters and got hot later. Our players regained their composure in the second half to finish the game out strong."
 
The Falcons were able to once again hit from distance, making 12 three-point shots. It was the fifth time this season NDC was able to make 10 or more from beyond the arc.
 
Defensively, Notre Dame was able to hold WVSU to a shooting percentage of .384. This year, NDC is 3-0 when their opponents have shot less than 40 percent from the field.
 
Seina Adachi led the team with 21 points while Maggie King had 15 and Kim Cook had 10. Cook was able to record her fourth double-double with 11 rebounds and King nearly matched her with nine rebounds of her own. Katie Karalic had a solid night defensively as she stole the ball four times and blocked two shots.
 
Notre Dame will return home for its final game on campus in 2017 this Saturday, December 9. The Falcons will host the University of Charleston at 2 p.m.