SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – Two of the top teams in the Atlantic Region battled it out Wednesday night in Murphy Gymnasium as the Notre Dame College women's basketball team improved to 22-3 (16-3 MEC) with a seven-point victory against Charleston (20-5, 15-4 MEC).
 
The game's high energy was seen from the start. Charleston got out to an 8-4 lead after five minutes of play, but NDC dominated the second half of the first quarter by going on an 18-0 run. The big 22-8 lead carried the Falcons through the rest of the game as UC attempted the comeback.
 
The Golden Eagles won both the second and third quarters by five points each, and even gained a two-point advantage in the fourth quarter, but Notre Dame came soaring back with another strong run. Down by two with 4:34 to go, the Falcons outscored their visitors 14-5 to take sole possession of second place in the Mountain East standings.
 
Offensively, Seina Adachi and Jada Marone filled the stat sheet and the highlight reel, scoring a combined 47 points on nearly 50 percent shooting. Adachi played all 40 minutes, but motivation was easy to find.
 
"We're to the point where it's a rivalry in my opinion," Adachi said about Charleston. "We go at it every time, and I think our team was motivated by the energy and emotion going into a game like this. You know it's going to be a grind and be physical so you have to get up for it. I think you saw that in our play tonight."
 
Another huge part of the victory was earned on the defensive end. In the first half, Notre Dame held their opponents to just 32 percent shooting from the field. NDC also had a rebounding advantage of 25-15 in the first two quarters despite playing against two 6'2" forwards.
 
Jessie Stout came up big for the Falcons, as she was able to bring in 10 rebounds in just 23 minutes of play. Her effort on the defensive end held the leagues fifth-leading scorer, Anna Hayton, to just four points.
 
"I was just focused on playing as hard as I could," Stout said on her mentality going into the game. "They definitely had a height advantage, so my focus was just to play harder than they did."
 
Stout said she knew she had to play big and find ways to get in front of UC's forwards whenever they had the ball. A big part of Notre Dame's game plan was to play strong help defense whenever the ball entered the lane.
 
"Every play I had to stick to that game plan because I knew my teammates would be there to help me," Stout said. " And there is a big motivation factor when things are working. At some points you can see the scoreboard and see certain players didn't have as many points, and that's when you tell yourself to keep doing what you're doing. I was just trying to challenge shots to make sure there were no easy baskets."
 
Stout did not attempt a field goal until there were less than 90 seconds to go in the fourth quarter. A perfect pass from Marone set up Stout for an easy bucket, which put Notre Dame up by five with 1:25 to play.
 
After a stressful game from the coach's seat, head coach Lauren Macer found nothing but positive things to say about her team after the game.
 
"I think the good start and strong finish are a testament to the heart that our team plays with," Macer said. "They are really determined this year to have a good season and finish out the year on a high note. Defensively, we executed really well, and we stuck together the whole game. This is a team that loves to play together, and it makes it so much fun to coach."
 
Adachi led the team with 29 points, six assists and six steals. Marone scored 18 points, which included a buzzer-beating three to end the third quarter. Stout's double-digit rebounds were complimented by three assists and two blocks.
 
Notre Dame had tremendous play off the bench, which was highlighted by Theresa Parr and Tamia Ridley. Parr was third on the team with seven points, and led the team with three blocks. Ridley was able to score four points, making both her field goal attempts, gather five rebounds and tally both an assist and a block in just 10 minutes of playing time.
 
NDC will play at West Virginia State on Saturday, February 22, at 2 p.m. as the Falcons look to tie the program record for most wins in a season.