This week: Notre Dame College hosts Shepherd and Fairmont State this week in its first home games of 2018. The Rams visit South Euclid on Thursday, January 11, at 5:30 p.m. On Saturday, January 13, FSU will play in Murphy Gymnasium at 2 p.m.
 
Records: The Falcons are 10-5, 6-2 MEC this season after opening up the 2018 portion of their schedule 1-1. Shepherd is 8-6, 4-4 MEC after winning both of its games last week. Fairmont State is 7-6, 3-5 MEC after going 2-0 as well last week.
 
Coaches Corner: Lauren Macer is in her first season as the head coach of the Notre Dame women's basketball program. She currently has a record of 10-5. Jenna Eckleberry is in her second season with Shepherd. She is 30-16 in her career after going 22-10 last season. Steve McDonald is in his 18th season at the helm of the Fairmont State program. He has amassed a record of 345-173 in his career and is the winningest coach in program history.
 
Rankings: None of the teams playing this week were ranked in the January 3 Women's Basketball Coaches Association poll.
 
Series History: NDC is 5-3 against both Shepherd and Fairmont State since joining the NCAA Division II ranks prior to the 2012-13 season. Last year, Notre Dame went 1-1 against the Rams and 2-0 against FSU.
 
Home Streak: It's been nearly a year since Notre Dame has lost a home game to a Mountain East opponent. The last time a visiting MEC team won in South Euclid was January 16, 2017 when Shepherd won 69-60 in overtime. NDC is 9-0 in MEC home games since that game.
 
Noting the Falcons: After losing a tough one against Glenville State on Thursday last week, Notre Dame was able to bounce back against West Virginia Wesleyan two days later by getting back to what they do best. The Falcons made 11 three-point field goals on 23 attempts (.478 percent). It was the highest percentage shooting from distance for NDC since a three-game streak when they made over 50 percent of their threes in November. The Falcons have made 10 or more three-pointers in seven games this season. Notre Dame currently ranks seventh in NCAA Division II with 142 baskets from beyond the arc and rank fourth in three-point percentage (.403). Senior Kim Cook has made 51.7 percent of her three-point attempts and ranks third among both NCAA DII and DI individuals.
 
Noting the Rams: As successful as Notre Dame has been shooting from distance, Shepherd has been just as successful defending from distance. The Rams lead the conference in opponents' three-point field goal percentage as teams have only been able to make 29.2 percent of their shots against SU. This hasn't come from a lack of trying, however, as Shepherd has seen the fourth most attempts from beyond the arc taken against them compared to the rest of the MEC. Shepherd ranks in the lower half in many other categories, which shows on the scoreboard as they rank ninth in scoring margin (-5.4).  The Rams are led by senior guard Morgan Arden who averages 21.9 points (leads MEC) and 4.3 assists per game. Arden also ranks second in the MEC in minutes played (35.14 average).
 
Noting the Fighting Falcons: Fairmont State's Sierra Kotchman isn't fair behind Shepherd's Morgan Arden (MEC-leading 21.9 ppg) in scoring as she ranks third in the Mountain East with 19.8 points per game. Kotchman has scored many of her points with the use of her three-point shot (41 3FG) as she is one of just three players in the MEC to make at least 40 threes. The Fighting Falcons' leader also ranks high in minutes per game with 33.69. As a team, FSU has struggled rebounding this season. Fairmont State ranks second-to-last in the MEC in rebounding margin (-5.1) and offensive rebound percentage (25.9).