Box Score
SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – The Notre Dame Falcons trailed by nine with five minutes left on Thursday evening, but they caught fire late and completed an incredible comeback in a 74-71 victory over the Shepherd Rams.
Notre Dame (10-12, 9-8 MEC) has now won three in a row, tying a season long winning streak, and they've won six out of their last seven overall. The loss for the Rams (10-15, 7-10 MEC) was their second in a row and their third in their last four overall.
The Falcons used a lopsided 50-25 advantage in rebounds, and 22 of those rebounds came on the offensive end, producing 24 points off second chance opportunities.
Shepherd controlled the early stages of the opening quarter, as they led for the first two minutes of the contest. Notre Dame took their first lead (9-8) five minutes in on a 3-pointer from
Terrina Robinson. The lead changed hands a few times through the rest of the quarter, but Notre Dame used another 3-ball fro Robinson with 21 seconds left to get the upper hand again, and they led 21-19 heading into the second.
On Notre Dame's opening possession of the second quarter,
Kelsey Miller buried a 3-pointer to give the Falcons their largest lead of the half (24-19), but the Rams responded with a 14-4 run over the next four minutes of the contest to take a 33-28 advantage with 4:53 left in the opening half. The lead would change hands a few times before end of the half, but Miller's layup with 48 seconds left was enough to put the Falcons ahead, 38-36, which was the score at the break.
The third quarter was tightly contested for the most part, as the two teams were tied at 45-45 with 4:52 left, before the Rams took a lead that they would not surrender. Shepherd held a 56-51 advantage after Kayla Tibbs hit a 3-pointer with three seconds left in the quarter.
Shepherd led for eight-and-a-half minutes of the final quarter. They held a nine-point (67-58) lead with 5:07 remaining, before the NDC comeback began.
Seina Adachi scored seven of NDC's next 13 points, as they went on a 13-2 run over the next four minutes. They tied the game at 69-69 after a pair of free throws from Robinson, and took the lead on a layup from Miller with 1:16 remaining.
Only 18 seconds after the make from Miller, Shepherd tied the game at 71-71 on a jumper from Morgan Arden, but Robinson struck again on NDC's next offensive possession, as she made a layup to put the Falcons ahead 73-71 with 33 seconds to play.
Kim Cook made a free throw with seven seconds left to give NDC a three-point (74-71) lead, and the Rams missed a 3-pointer as time expired.
Miller and Robinson led the way for the Falcons with 18 points each. Miller delivered another double-double, her 10th of the season as she came away with 15 rebounds and three assists. Robinson came a rebound away from a double-double with nine boards while adding four assists.
Jessie Stout had 15 points and a team high, six steals, while Adachi added a dozen points.
The Falcons return to action on Saturday, Feb. 11, when they square off against Fairmont State in another MEC road tilt. Tip-off in Fairmont, W.Va., is scheduled for 2 p.m.
