SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – With a buzzer-beating shot before halftime and tenacious defensive play after, the Notre Dame College women's basketball team won big at home against Shepherd 77-60 in an important conference match up.
 
The Falcons (12-9, 9-6) came into the game against the Rams (11-10, 8-7) tied for fifth place in the conference. And with a loss at Shepherd earlier this season, the win was a big one.
 
"This was an important win for us, especially since they beat us at their place," said Seina Adachi who led NDC with 23 points.
 
"As we are coming towards the end of the second part of the season, each game means that much more," said head coach Lauren Macer. "Every game is important, though and we are just focusing on one game at a time and trying to be successful with it."
 
Notre Dame got off to a strong start in the first quarter, going up 7-2, but Shepherd responded with a 10-0 run to give the Rams a 12-7 lead five minutes into the contest. Notre Dame would tie the game up multiple times throughout the rest of the first half, but could not get over the hump until the final moment of the second half.
 
With 2.9 seconds to go, Tamia Ridley came up with a steal, going onto the floor to secure the ball, before getting the ball to Katie Karalic. Karalic took a few steps and launched a shot from nearly 55-feet out. When the ball went in, she looked as surprised as anyone and headed to the locker room with a smile on her face and a shrug of the shoulders.
 
The shot finally broke the tie for NDC and put the Falcons up 36-33 at the break.
 
"Honestly, it's not something I normally practice, but today, ironically enough, during shoot around we were shooting half-court shots at the very end because we had extra time," Karalic said. "I air balled that try so I guess I was getting the bad one out of my system."
 
Karalic went on to say that the shot was a big turning point in the game and gave the team some energy heading into the second half. That sentiment was echoed by her coach.
 
"It was definitely a momentum swing for our team," Macer said. And it was awesome coming from Katie because she usually doesn't shoot many threes. For her to gather and score it was great for our team going into halftime."
 
The Falcons used that momentum in the second half as they began to press Shepherd and force turnovers. The Rams gave the ball away 11 times in the third quarter and 16 times in the second half. Overall, NDC forced 27 turnovers, which is the most against an MEC team since Macer took over the program last year.
 
"We've been working on [the full court press] in practice and it's kind of based on our half court principle on defense," Karalic said after leading the team with four steals. "We want to force the other team to make a panicked decision. I think it was a good idea in this game because they weren't expecting it and their guards couldn't handle it as well."
 
With every turnover and every basket that followed (Notre Dame scored 30 points off turnovers) the energy in Murphy Gymnasium rose among both the fans and the players. A big part of that energy came from the support the Falcons give each other.
 
"I think our bench is one of the best in the conference," Karalic said. "They are always up, encouraging everyone on the court to keep going. That energy on the bench always transfers to the players on the floor. It's huge for us."
 
A big contributor off that bench was Jada Marone who scored 11 points and stole the ball three times. Marone, who is playing in just her third game since joining Notre Dame this semester, joined Adachi and Karalic (11) in double-digit scoring.
 
"Jada is high energy," said Macer. "She's been a point guard her whole life so she has that on-court leadership. I think she is helping us play high intensity on offense and defense."
 
With the turnovers and good decision making on both ends of the court, NDC was able to outscore its visitors by seven points in both the third and fourth quarters to walk away with a 17-point victory.
 
Karalic also led the team in assists with four while Jessie Stout had a team-high eight rebounds.
 
Notre Dame plays against Fairmont State next at home on Saturday, February 9, at 2 p.m.