WHEELING, W.Va. – The Notre Dame College women's basketball team (2-2, 1-0 MEC) traveled to Wheeling University (0-4, 0-1 MEC) to begin Mountain East Conference play. The Falcons trailed by eight points at halftime, but a 35-point fourth quarter and a career-high 29 points via Lilee Carlson, propelled NDC past WU 79-70.
 
In the first quarter, it was an evenly matched contest as neither side saw more than a four-point lead. Wheeling would claim the quarter 18-14.
 
In the second quarter, the two sides exchanged points for the first few minutes, then the Cardinals extended their lead to between six and nine points for the remainder of the quarter. Wheeling won the quarter 20-16 and led 38-30 at the half.
 
"We started off slow in the beginning of the game. Wheeling came out hard against us." Said head coach Imani Gordon, "Even though we didn't start the game off how we intended, we bounced back in the second half."
 
In the third quarter, the two teams turned up their defensive intensity as there was only six total points scored from the seven-minute mark until the two-minute mark. Notre Dame won the quarter 14-11 and faced a five-point deficit with ten minutes remaining.
 
In the final stanza, NDC put their foot on the gas by scoring 35 points compared to WU's 21. The Falcons would trail 52-46, but would respond with a 16-4 run, as Carlson scored six of the Falcons last eight points during the span. NDC would lead the contest 62-56 with 5:14 left in the game, the Falcons first lead since the 4:05 mark in the first quarter. Notre Dame would fend off Wheeling during the final five minutes as both teams exchanged baskets. NDC's comeback would be complete after four clutch free throws each, by Carlson and Jen Oduho during the last 60 seconds of the contest. Both Carlson and Oduho shot very efficiently from the charity stripe at 15-19 and 11-11 respectively.
 
The difference maker in this contest was the disparity from the free throw line as NDC shot 33-38 (86.8%) from the line compared to Wheeling's 7-15 (46.7%).
 
"We talk a lot about bouncing back and that's what we did." Gordon said pleasantly, "Lilee played great for us tonight. She was aggressive and put us on her back."
 
Notre Dame was led on offense by Carlson's game-high and career-high 29 points on an efficient 7-11 from the field. Oduho (16), Amil Ali-Shakir (12) and Alana Ellis (10) were the other double-digit scorers for the Falcons on the afternoon.
 
Oduho and Carlson were prevalent on the glass with eight and six rebounds respectively to lead NDC. However, Wheeling won the rebounding battle 40-28, including 20 offensive rebounds compared to Notre Dame's three.
 
The win marks the first in Mountain East Conference play for Notre Dame and the first MEC victory for first-year head coach Imani Gordon.
 
Gordon concluded with smile on her face by saying, "We all stepped up in the second half and got stops and buckets on the other end. Conference play is tough. It is about who wants it more. I'm proud of how our girls finished strong! We wanted it more!"
 
Gordon and the Falcons will be back in action inside Murphy Gymnasium on Tuesday Nov. 23 when they welcome West Liberty University to town for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off. The game will be followed by the men's basketball team against West Liberty, scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.