CHARLESTON, W.Va. – In a slow-paced game with multiple players from each team in foul trouble, it took some time for the Notre Dame College women's basketball team to get things going, but the Falcons turned it on in the second half to earn a solid road win against Charleston.
 
Scoring 12 points in each of the first two quarters, NDC (14-7, 10-4 MEC) was on pace to have its lowest-scoring game of the season. UC was outscored 12-5 in the first quarter with its visitors causing some trouble forcing turnovers, but the Golden Eagles took a 29-24 lead into halftime after a 22-point second quarter.
 
Senior Kim Cook kept her team in it as she played 18 of the first 20 minutes and scored 11 of the team's 24 points. Cook shot 50 percent from the field and grabbed six rebounds in the first half.
 
In the third quarter, both teams had their offenses rolling as they combined for 40 points. Each team made runs as Charleston (9-10, 6-8 MEC) got up to a double-digit lead at the midway point in the third before Notre Dame finished strong with a 12-5 run to put the score at 48-45.
 
Going into the final 10 minutes down three, the Falcons needed to close the gap. In the early parts of the fourth quarter, each time NDC scored, Charleston would respond with points of its own until a shot by Seina Adachi with 5:41 to play put Notre Dame ahead.
 
With a 53-52 lead, the Falcons took flight to outscore the Golden Eagles 14-5 in the remainder of the game to win 67-57.
 
After only shooting once and fouling twice in the first half, Adachi returned to second half to lead the team on their comeback run and score 13 points.
 
"Seina and Kim played hard and made big plays for us today when we needed them," said head coach Lauren Macer.
 
Macer had to call on her bench throughout the competition as starters Adachi, Maggie King, Marisa Finazzo and Kim Cook all had at least three fouls. Multiple players recorded a season-high in minutes, including guard Mariah McGhee and forward Shay Davidson who played 15 and 14 minutes, respectively.
 
Madison Snider, who also had a season-high seven minutes, didn't enter the game until late in the third quarter. Snider made the most of her time on the court, however, as she recorded four points, a rebound and a steal all in the fourth quarter.
 
"All our players are ready when I call their names," Macer said. "Shay and Madison got in and worked. They really did the little things and showed up in big moments.
 
"This was truly a team win. The team just kept digging. We didn't start out as strong as we wanted, but they battled back and stuck together."
 
Overall, Charleston did well forcing the Falcons to play its style as they held NDC to just 52 field goal attempts; the lowest of the season for Notre Dame. But, like in their previous matchup, the Golden Eagles couldn't keep the shots from going in.
 
The Falcons made 46.2 percent of their attempts, including 57 percent in the second half. UC has only allowed opponents to shoot over 46 percent four times this season, and two of those came against NDC.
 
Cook and Adachi led the team in points with 18 and 13, respectively while Cook also led the team with eight rebounds. Marisa Finazzo had a team-high three assists.
 
Notre Dame will head back out on Thursday, February 1, to play at Shepherd. Tip off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.