WEST CHESTER, Pa. – For the first time since the 2013-14 season, the Notre Dame College women's basketball team has started its season off 2-0, sweeping its competition at the Carol Eckmen Memorial Tournament.
On Sunday, the Falcons won against the hosting West Chester 81-72 with strong play in the second and third quarters. NDC outscored the Golden Rams by eight points in the two quarters before and after halftime.
The game opened with tough back-and-forth play in the first quarter as there were five lead changes before the score was tied up 18-18. Notre Dame scored the first points in the second quarter with
Kathleen DeCarlo breaking the tie. Once they got ahold of the lead, the game stayed in the Falcons' control for the remainder of the competition.
DeCarlo,
Tamia Ridley and
Theresa Parr, the team's only three freshmen, combined for 18 of the total 33 points scored in the first half. Ridley made all five of her shots in the first half to lead the team at the break with 10 points. She would finish the day with a perfect shooting percentage adding one more field goal to her first-half marks.
"Tamia has brought a post presence to our offense and she has been able to learn from our veteran post players," said head coach
Lauren Macer. "She has been able to take advantage of matchups on the court, which is great to see."
In the second half, it was the veterans leading the way, as upperclassmen scored all but two of the team's 48 points.
Seina Adachi caught fire in the last two quarters, playing all 20 minutes, and making seven of her 11 attempts for 21 pints. Adachi failed to score in the first half, only taking one shot in three minutes played.
"After only playing a few minutes in the first half, Seina was anxious to get back on the floor and help her teammates out," Macer said. "She took good shots and allowed our team to get some different looks that we were able to capitalize on."
Kyleigh Ramlow joined Adachi in the double digits in the second half with 10 points on two threes and four free throws while
Jessie Stout and
Katie Karalic combined for 15 points in the third and fourth.
Stout led the team in rebounding with a total of six that included five on the offensive end. With five in the first game, she now has given the Falcons 10 second-chance opportunities this season as the team has scored a total of 30 second-chance points in its first two games. Against West Chester, NDC was able to convert often on these chances, scoring 17 points on opportunity number two.
"Jessie has been so excited to get back on the court," Macer said. "Her energy and enthusiasm for the game allows her to have so much success rebounding."
Adachi led the team with 21 points while Karalic scored 14 and Ramlow, Ridley and Stout each totaled 12. Stout's six rebounds were followed by Karalic, Ridley and
Abi Oriti who each came down with five. Karalic also led the team with six assists and now has 13 on the year.
Notre Dame will play its first home game on Wednesday, November 14, at 6 p.m. against Malone.
