BUCKHANNON, W. Va. – The Notre Dame College women's basketball team (6-4, 5-1 MEC) traveled down to West Virginia Wesleyan (2-6, 1-5 MEC) on Saturday afternoon in an effort to extend their win streak to three games. Tamia Ridley generated her third consecutive double-double as NDC beat WVWC 58-51.
 
"We came out very focused and executing everything we wanted." Mentioned head coach Imani Gordon, "Throughout the game we had some lapses, and as a team we are learning and growing on how to stop those lapses."
 
In the first quarter, NDC opened with a 12-3 run that took the first 6:32 off the game clock. Notre Dame concluded the quarter leading 21-9 after an Alana Ellis jumper at the buzzer.
 
In the second quarter, West Virginia Wesleyan would be able to slowly shave the NDC lead down to five points (27-22) with 1:25 left in the half. Ellis would net a three-pointer with under a minute to play and the Falcons would take a 30-22 lead into the break.
 
In the second half, Notre Dame would use the entire third quarter to swell their lead to 17 points (48-31), the largest of the game. NDC beat WVWC 18-9 during the period which featured a well-balanced scoring attack.
 
In the fourth quarter, the Bobcats would reverse the script by winning the final stanza 20-10. West Virginia Wesleyan was able to pull the Notre Dame lead back to only five points with just 23 seconds remaining. But in the end, the Falcons 17-point lead to begin the final quarter was too much for the Bobcats to overcome, as NDC grabs their third consecutive victory and fifth win during Mountain East Conference play.
 
"Every game is going to be a dog fight and we are showing that we are built to win those fights!" Exclaimed Gordon after the game.
 
Ridley continued her hot streak by posting a game-high 14 points and 12 rebounds off the bench, to total her third double-double in as many games. The senior was an efficient 7-10 from the floor.
 
When asked about the impressive play from Tamia Ridley, Gordon had this to say, "Mimi [Tamia] was a spark for us off the bench. She's been really focused on giving her all for this team. She now has three double-doubles in a row! She is doing a great job of stepping up in times when we need it the most!"
 
Marina Adachi added a season-high 13 points and Ellis tallied 11 points, as Emma Martcheva, Jen Oduho and Ellis, all snagged five rebounds apiece to aid Ridley in a strong team effort.
 
As a team, Notre Dame shot 22-63 (34.9%) from the field, 6-18 (33.3%) from three and 8-11 (72.7%) from the line. West Virginia Wesleyan out-rebounded NDC by one (45-44), while also winning the turnover battle 14-13. However, the Falcons tallied 23 bench points compared to the Bobcats nine.
 
Notre Dame College will be back in action tomorrow, Sunday Dec. 11 at 2 p.m. for an exhibition contest against Division I Bowling Green State University, in Bowling Green, Ohio.