WHEELING, W.Va. – Notre Dame College learned plenty from their first two meetings against the No. 1 seed Glenville State College this season, and they led at the end of the first three quarters. But, Glenville State was able to capture the MEC Title after they made a run in the fourth quarter to retake the lead.

Glenville State jumped out to a 15-9 advantage with a combination of a couple steals on defense and extra opportunities because of offensive rebounds. After the four-minute mark in the first quarter, the momentum began to shift to the other side.

"We adjusted defenses, we made sure we were getting people back to locate shooters and locate scorers earlier," said Head Coach Lauren Macer. "This is a game that we didn't need a lot of pressure in the backcourt, because we needed to protect the frontcourt."

That certainly stifled the Pioneers' offense and allowed the Falcons to gain confidence. After taking the six-point lead, GSC went 0-for-2 from the field with three turnovers over two-and-a-half minutes. Notre Dame went on an 18-5 run to end the quarter and finished the stanza shooting 75-percent. NDC led 27-20 after 10 minutes.

The star at the end of the quarter was Marissa Finazzo who scored seven points in the final 2:30 of the quarter. She got to the basket a couple of times and once was fouled, completing the and-one free throw.

"She's a tough kid, to come back from [knee] injuries, twice, it speaks to her and her heart that she has," Macer said. "She's seen Glenville for four years, so she knows the pace, their style, so to have that leadership and another ballhandler helped and brought confidence within the team."

The offensive outburst continued into the second quarter as Jessie Stout and Jada Marone each hit jumpers. The Falcons pushed their lead to 11 points, 31-20, capping a 22-5 run.

Two free throws by Seina Adachi, with 5:09 to go before halftime, gave Notre Dame a 35-23 advantage. Glenville State responded with a 10-2 run and cut the NDC lead to four points, 37-33, which ended with a three pointer by GSC's Ty Armstrong at the 51-second mark. A floater by Theresa Parr put Notre Dame up by six points going into the locker room, 39-33.

At the half, Marone, Oduho and Finazzo all had seven points. Adachi totaled six points and three assists.

The third quarter was closely contested, but Notre Dame held their composure and stayed in front. Glenville State started the quarter on an 8-2 run and made three of their first four shots. They tied the game at 41, before NDC scored the next five points, with three of them coming at the free throw line.

The Pioneers did not go away, and a 6-3 run over the final two minutes of the quarter, including a personal 3-0 run by Zakiyah Winfield, drew GSC within one point, 55-54, at the end of the third quarter.

Marone began the fourth by driving to the basket and drawing a foul. She made the layup and the free throw. She would finish the game with 19 points, on 50-percent shooting, and four steals.

For the first time, Glenville State went on a long run, to the tune of 15-4, and jumped in front by seven points, 69-62, with 4:20 remaining in the contest. NDC did cut the deficit to two points with about two minutes remaining, but the Pioneers always had an answer. Glenville State made their free throws in the final minute to seal the game.

"We had some turnovers and didn't locate their shooters and they took advantage of it," Marone said. "So that's how I think they increased the lead."

"It was a tough game," Macer explained. "We played with heart in the beginning, a couple possessions led to an unfortunate loss for us. I'm proud of the team. I knew we had a great team, they believe in each other, they didn't give up until the final buzzer sounded. It was a good game, we just came up short."

After the contest, Seina Adachi and Jada Marone were given All-MEC Tournament team for their performances over the three games. Adachi was also awarded the Commissioner's Heart & Hustle Award.

Marone had 59 points, which is tied for sixth most in an MEC tournament. She also averaged three assists, 5.3 rebounds and made 21 free throws, which is tied for fifth in tournament history. Adachi recorded 14 points, six rebounds and three assists in Sunday's game. For the tournament, she had 57 points, which is eighth in tournament history. She averaged seven rebounds.

Jen Oduho also had 19 points in the game, shooting 8-for-11, which puts her in a tie for the eighth best shooting percentage for a game in MEC Tournament history.

Notre Dame will find out if they have advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament, tonight, at 10 p.m. The selection show can be found at NCAA.com. Macer spoke about her team's chances of playing next week.

"Based on our team and our schedule, I'm confident," she said. "I know it's not 100-percent certain, but we're preparing for it, we're expecting it, so if it does happen, we'll be ready. I think we have a good enough case, with the players we have and the schedule we had."