This Week: Notre Dame College hosts its final home games of the season this week. The Falcons welcome Concord tonight, February 21, at 5:30 p.m. Then, on Saturday, February 23, the team will have its Senior Day against UVa-Wise at 2 p.m.  
 
Records: The Falcons are currently 13-11 (10-8 MEC) after splitting a pair of MEC games last week. Concord is 19-5 (14-4 MEC) after two road wins last week. UVa-Wise is 12-12 (10-8 MEC) after winning its last three games.
 
Coaches Corner: Lauren Macer is in her second season as the head coach of the NDC women's basketball program. She holds a record of 36-20, 27-13 MEC. Kenny Osborne has led the Concord team for 19 years. He has a 252-284 record which includes a 47-81 MEC record. Osborne is looking at his first winning conference season since the Mountain Lions joined the MEC in 2013. Jamie Cluesman is in her debut season at the helm of UVa-Wise. She has a 12-12, 10-8 MEC record.
 
Rankings: No teams competing this week were ranked in the February 17 Women's Basketball Coaches Association poll. Concord is the ninth-ranked team in the Atlantic Regional Rankings, which were first released on February 20.
 
Series History: The Falcons are 10-1 against Concord since joining the MEC prior to the 2013-14 season. This year's 88-81 road loss was the first time Notre Dame has lost to the Mountain Lions. NDC is 7-5 against UVa-Wise after winning on the road 64-53 this season.
 
Mountain East Conference Playoff Picture: With four games left in the regular season, Notre Dame, Concord and UVa-Wise have all secured a spot in the MEC Tournament. Concord is currently tied for third place with Charleston as both teams are half a game behind West Liberty in second. Notre Dame and UVa-Wise are currently tied for fifth. If the tournament were to start today, both teams would receive a first-round bye (top six seed earn a bye). Shepherd (8-10 MEC) is two games behind the Falcons and Cavaliers while Fairmont State (7-11) is three games back. Notre Dame can secure a first-round bye this week with two wins.
 
Noting the Falcons: Notre Dame (4th – 71.8), Concord (3rd – 71.4) and UVa-Wise (2nd – 69.2) each rank in the top four in Mountain East scoring defense. This could result in two low scoring games this week, which would play in NDC's favor. The Falcons are 10-5 this season when the combine scores in a game is less than 145. Notre Dame is 7-3 in the MEC when keeping the game within that parameter. When the scores go beyond a combined 145, the Falcons are 3-6 (3-5 MEC).
 
Noting the Mountain Lions: At 19-5, Concord has been playing well at home and on the road, but the Mountain Lions 8-1 road record is actually better than their 10-3 home record. Their only loss on the road this season came at Glenville State who leads the MEC this season with a 22-2 record. In the teams game against Notre Dame this season, Concord's Madison May, Riley Fitzwater and Andreanna Pool combined for over 75 percent of the team's field goal attempts (52 of 69). That led to those three scoring over three fourths of the Mountain Lions' points (67 of 88). Those three players are the only three who average over 10 points per game for CU. May ranks third in the MEC with 19.3 points per game.
 
Noting the Cavaliers: UVa-Wise relies on its defense to win games. The Cavaliers are 10-4 this season when holding teams below 70 points. When teams score above that mark, Wise is 2-8. One of their four losses this season when holding a team to fewer than 70 was against Notre Dame early in the year. The Cavs only have one player averaging more than 10 points per game, Cynthia Webb (14.2). But they have three players averaging between nine and 10 points. This spread of scoring is similar to Notre Dame's. The Falcons have two players above 10 points per game, but have three other players averaging above 8.5.