CHARLESTON, W.Va. – In the first Mountain East Conference women's basketball semifinal game on Friday afternoon, Charleston looked like it was destined to become the Cinderella story of the tournament. But the slow start from Notre Dame College only lasted a quarter, and the Falcons put an end to the 10th-seeded Golden Eagles chances of an upset.
 
It was a game powered by the defense in the final 30 minutes of the game. NDC held their opponents to just 34 points after trailing 13-8 in the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Falcons stole the ball six times to take a 28-24 lead into halftime.
 
"It's different for us because we're used to being able to score and score and score," said senior forward Kim Cook. "Tonight we weren't shooting well to start off, but we worked to get some easy layups. Our steals led to foul shots and just being able to get to the hoop and see the ball go in kind off got us going. It was great for us to be faced with that challenge. Our defense was the fuel to our fire tonight."
 
Head coach Lauren Macer used her team's depth and versatility to shake the Golden Eagles. With switches from man to zone and the use of players like Julie Kemp, who used her size to help shut down the UC forwards, Macer was able to successfully turn things around.
 
"We have the ability to throw multiple defenses at teams and give them different looks to force teams to think" Macer said. "Our players were flying everywhere and providing a lot of energy on the court. That shows in [Charleston's] turnovers. We did well rotating and connected with what we were trying to do defensively. None of our players could have done it alone; it was really a team win today."
 
Another adjustment the Falcons made was attacking the glass more aggressively. In the first quarter, Charleston had secured 12 rebounds compared to Notre Dame's five. Cook said after that, the coaching staff talked to the team about rebounding and the players locked in. In the final three quarters, NDC out-rebounded the Golden Eagles 26-21.
 
Once things started going their way, the Falcons rode the momentum. Opening up the second half, Notre Dame won the third quarter 19-6 to take a commanding 47-30 lead, but Charleston had one last push left in them.
 
In the fourth quarter, UC went on a quick 9-4 run that pushed the point differential to a dozen. Macer saw enough to call a timeout and regroup with 7:38 left to play. After the timeout, the Falcons had one of their most electric runs of the season.
 
A missed shot was followed by Cook gathering the offensive rebound to give her team a second chance. Katie Karalic found Seina Adachi open for a three that went in despite being fouled. After the NDC bench nearly piled onto the court, Adachi hit her free throw for a four-point play. UC tried to get back on offense, but Marisa Finazzo intercepted the inbound pass and hit Adachi again for two points. Similarly on the next pass in, Adachi stole the ball and returned the favor, finding Finazzo. Over the course of 18 seconds, the Falcons scored eight points to push their lead back up to 20 and cruise to a 64-47 victory.
 
"Seina and Marisa are two of the toughest guards in our league to play against," Cook said. "They're so fast and always on the ball. That picks up the rest of our team. We want to have their backs."
 
Adachi led the game with 18 points  while Cook and Kyleigh Ramlow each had 12. Cook secured 13 rebounds for her 10th double-double of the season while Finazzo recorded five assists.
 
Finazzo also scored in the double digits, reaching 10 points on four-of-eight shooting and added four steals and a rebound.
 
"Marisa does so much for us," Macer said. "She can create off the dribble and sets up her teammates. She doesn't take bad shots. I love having a point guard like her because she does so much for us. She had a solid night for us across the board. Five assists is great for a point guard. She's setting our players up to catch and shoot."
 
Two other players joined Finazzo with four steals each as Adachi and Karalic played a major role in Charleston's 21 turnovers. Just like the pair of Adachi and Finazzo act as floor generals on the offensive side, Macer said Karalic's calm, focused demeanor on defense is a huge reason for the team's success.
 
"I use Katie a ton on defense," Macer said. "She has great defensive principles.  She's able to get up to apply ball pressure and use her size to her advantage. Our other guards are smaller so it's nice to have her out there. We talked about how our defense led to offense today and she was a big part of that because she can do a lot of things for us. She's able to crash and rebound and gets stops when we need them."
 
Cook said the team knew they would be able to find their way out of their first quarter deficit if they stayed positive. That mindset played a major role in winning the competition, for one player it stood out more than anything else.
 
"Energy," Adachi said. "Our energy was a big factor in the win. We made good decisions and were able to feed off each other. I feel like we just wanted it more."
 
Notre Dame will play West Virginia State on Saturday, March 3, at 2:15 p.m. in the Charleston Civic Center.