CHARLESTON, W.Va. – An explosive first quarter from Seina Adachi launched the Notre Dame College women's basketball team to a 31-16 lead after 10 minutes of play at the University of Charleston. The Golden Eagles battled back, but NDC held on to win 79-76 and improve to 15-1 (9-1 MEC).
 
The game, which was a battle for first place in the Mountain East Conference, was jump-started by senior guard who scored 22 points in the opening quarter, making eight of her 10 attempts, including six three-pointers.
 
Charleston defended its home court the best it could by winning the second quarter 19-8 and the third 26-21 to take a one-point lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
 
"It was an exciting game with two good teams going at it," said head coach Lauren Macer. "We knew it would be a battle on their home court. I'm proud of how our team was able to stay focused and adjust as needed throughout the game."
 
The Falcons adjusted well after Charleston made changes to its defensive strategy. UC had to lock down Adachi after her first quarter performance and began aggressively guarding the scorer. Adachi made just two field goals in the final three quarters, and saw her teammates respond to keep the game competitive.
 
In the fourth quarter, down by one, the Falcons went back and fourth with the home team. Katie Karalic scored the first basket of the quarter with a layup, but Charleston came back two possessions later with two points of its own. Then Jen Oduho scored two points with a field goal and two free throws, but UC hit a three to tie things up.
 
Notre Dame opened things up at the midpoint of the fourth with back-to-back makes to widen the margin to four points in favor of the Falcons. The Golden Eagles then scored three before NDC went on a 6-0 run with free throws by Adachi and two baskets in the paint from Karalic and Jada Marone. Notre Dame made free throws at the end of the game to secure their win and defended well to keep UC from sending it into overtime.
 
Overall, Notre Dame made 18 of its 19 free throw attempts, a big recovery in the area after going 10-of-19 in the previous contest.
 
"It was good to see that from out team today," Macer said. "We bounced back from our last game's free throw performance and were able to keep our lead. The group encouraged and believed in one another to make those shots, and having that confidence from your teammates helps a lot at the line."
 
Adachi ended the game with 39 points to tie the NDC record for most points in a single game, while she also led the team in rebounding with nine boards. Adachi's 11 free throw makes on 11 attempts is the second-best free throw total from a player shooting 100 percent from the charity stripe at Notre Dame.
 
Jen Oduho also shot well, making four of her six field goal attempts and both free throws for 10 points. Jessie Stout was second in the team in both rebounds (seven) and assists (two). Theresa Parr was once again a boost off the bench with a team-high four assists, two steals and one block.
 
Notre Dame will now enjoy a three-game home stand, which begins on Wednesday, January 22, against Wheeling. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.