SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – After a stagnant first quarter in which neither team could get much going, the Notre Dame College women's basketball took it into another gear to finish strong. The Falcons defeated Slippery Rock 82-58 in their largest margin of victory so far this season to improve to 10-1.
 
At the first media timeout, midway through the opening quarter, each team had made just one free throw. By the end of the first each team had three field goals as well as some free throw makes to give NDC a slight 11-10 lead despite shooting 14.3 percent from the field.
 
The Falcons recovered, however, and went on to dominate the next three quarters, shooting above 50 percent in the second and third. But it wasn't an change in the offense that got Notre Dame going.
 
"The main thing was our defense," said senior guard Seina Adachi. "We were able to get some steals and get our energy going. That connected to our offense and we finally woke up. That's when we really started playing our game. We came out slow in the first quarter, but we were able to bounce back with solid play on the defensive end."
 
NDC recorded a season-high 16 steals throughout the 40 minutes of play, 15 of which came in the final three quarters. The Falcons stopped the Rock on their own side of the court multiple times, allowing for quick baskets and a hit of energy from the bench and crowd. Overall, Notre Dame scored 30 points off turnovers and 14 fast-break points (compared to just two fast-break points by SRU).
 
At halftime, the Falcons took a 36-25 lead into the locker room with major help from Jessie Stout. Stout tallied 10 rebounds and four blocks in the first half alone. She would go on to finish her third double-double of the season with 10 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and four blocks.
 
"[Jessie] is just very active, which allows her to go get those rebounds," said head coach Lauren Macer. "Our rotations on defense are allowing her to stay low and get those blocks to finish the possession strong."
 
Notre Dame kept the defensive pressure going in the second half, rotating fresh bodies in. Three bench players earned more than 15 minutes of playing time each as NDC rolled through the Rock.
 
Marina Adachi led the reserves with 18 minutes played, second most in her career so far at NDC, and scored seven points while totaling three assists and two steals. In her sixth-straight game playing double-digit minutes, Adachi looked to have found her groove.
 
"She's a freshman, and each practice we have seen her get more confident," Macer said of Marina. "It definitely helps having her sister here. She is getting comfortable with our style of play and finding her role in it. She's only going to continue to grow and we just want to let her be her own player."
 
Both Adachi sisters had good games as Seina led both teams with 20 points. Seina surpassed 1,500 career points as well in the home win to become just the third player to reach that milestone in NDC history.
 
"It's definitely a great accomplishment for her," Macer said. "She's someone who really works hard in and out of practice, both on her own and with the coaches. Seina is a really fun player to coach because she is willing to do what it takes to win and make the team better. She's constantly challenging the team and challenging our defense, which as you saw tonight transitioned into offense numbers."
 
Adachi said she was unaware that tonight would be the night to break that mark. After the game she gave credit to her teammates and coaches, who she said she could not have done it without their help.
 
Jada Marone met Adachi's pace with 19 points and led the team with four assists. Marone, Katie Karalic and Theresa Parr led the defense with three steals apiece. Jen Oduho and Julie Kemp each played well in the post, gathering rebound totals of eight and six, respectively.
 
Notre Dame will wrap up play in 2019 on Saturday, December 21, with a 2 p.m. game at home against Ursuline.