This Week: Notre Dame College begins a three-game homestand this week, hosting Wheeling and Urbana. NDC welcomes the Cardinals tomorrow, January 22, at 5:30 before Urbana comes to South Euclid on Saturday, January 25, for a 2 p.m. contest.  

Records: The Falcons, now on a nine-game winning streak, hold the top position in the Mountain East with a 15-1 (9-1 MEC) record. Wheeling split its conference games last week and now are 5-11 (4-6 MEC). Urbana also split its games last week, but hold a solid 10-6 (6-4 MEC) record.

Coaches Corner: Lauren Macer is in her third season as head coach of the Falcons. She holds a record of 53-24, 38-16 MEC. Mike Llanas is in his second season at Wheeling, after 14 years at Owens Community College. Llanas is 9-35 (6-26 MEC) at Wheeling and 360-138 overall as a head coach. Andrea McCloskey is in her third season at the helm of the Urbana women's team. McCloskey is 26-43 (20-34 MEC) and looking to lead the Blue Knights to their first winning season since 2013-14.

Rankings: Notre Dame was ranked No. 24 in the January 21 Women's Basketball Coaches Association poll. Neither of the other teams playing this week received votes. The Falcons were also ranked in the January 21 D2SIDA poll, voted on by NCAA Division II sports information directors. This is the first top 25 appearance for the NDC women's team in either poll.

Series History: The Falcons hold winning records against both opponents after solid performances under head coach Lauren Macer. Notre Dame is a combined 7-2 against Wheeling and Urbana since Macer took over the program. Overall, NDC is 8-5 against Wheeling and 11-4 against Urbana. Notre Dame defeated Wheeling 82-68 earlier in the season in the Mountain East opener. The Falcons have not yet played Urbana this season, but currently hold a five-game winning streak against UU when playing at home.

Noting the Falcons: Notre Dame won a crucial road game last week at Charleston 79-76 to remain the only team in the MEC without multiple losses. NDC is now 8-0 on the road as they begin a three-game homestand against Wheeling, Urbana and Concord. The Falcons are making up for their travel in the first half of the season when they played six-straight road games before playing in Murphy Gymnasium. NDC had a similar three-game grouping of home games in December, winning all three by an average margin of 21.0 points. With a 5-1 home record so far this season, head coach Lauren Macer is now 24-8 at home overall, while her senior class is 31-14 in South Euclid.

Noting the Cardinals: With an average of just 138.1 points per game between both teams, Wheeling has played in the lowest scoring contests in the Mountain East this season. The Cardinals score just 64.4 points per game, which ranks second-worst in the conference, and the pace of play extends to its opponents. WU allows just 73.7 points per game, ranking fourth in the league in scoring defense. Many of Wheeling's offensive woes come from shooting issues. With a .399 field goal percentage, the Cardinals are one of just four teams shooting under .400. WU also struggles when not being guarded, as their .626 free throw percentage ranks last in the MEC.

Noting the Blue Knights: A middle-of-the-pack team in most statistical categories in the Mountain East, Urbana does stand out in two areas. The Blue Knights lead the league in assists, with 17.19 a game. With assists on 275 of their 481 field goals has the team assisting on 57 percent of their makes. UU has also been an outstanding team in their ability to get blocks. With over four blocks a game, Urbana ranks second in the MEC in the category. Urbana is the only team in the league with two players who average at least one block a game in Tyra James and Sylvia Hudson. James also leads the Blue Knights in assists with 3.73 per game.