SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – Both the Notre Dame College women's basketball team and their visitors, West Liberty, trailed by as many as eight throughout the matchup on Wednesday. Both teams came back from the deficits, but it was ultimately WLU that came out on top 82-75 for the upset.
 
The Hilltoppers came out hot, gaining an eight-point lead late in the first quarter. With less than 2:30 to play in quarter one, NDC took over to cut the lead to a single point before the second quarter.
 
Notre Dame carried the momentum into the second to gain a 42-34 lead at halftime, but West Liberty would win the third and fourth quarters to leave South Euclid with a win.
 
Two of the major deciders in the game were fouls and free throws. Notre Dame was charged with 21 fouls compared to just nine from WLU. This sent the Hilltoppers to the free throw line 30 times compared to the Falcons' 13 attempts from the charity stripe. Ultimately, this resulted in a 15-point difference as West Liberty made 23 FTs to NDC's eight.
 
The loss moved Notre Dame to 23-4 (17-4 MEC) on the year, and due to Charleston losing as well, the Falcons have secured the No. 2 seed in the MEC Tournament.
 
The exciting back-and-forth game ended with four Falcons in double digits. Seina Adachi led the team with 12 points, followed by Jessie Stout and Jada Marone with 11 while Jen Oduho finished with 10.
 
Stout earned her fifth double-double of the season with a game-high 10 rebounds while Katie Karalic finished with six boards. Notre Dame passed well, ending with 16 assists as Adachi racked up six while Marisa Finazzo tallied four.
 
Notre Dame will look to end the regular season strong in their final game before the MEC Tournament on Saturday, February 29, at Urbana. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.