SOUTH EUCLID, OH – The Notre Dame College basketball team (7-5, 6-1 MEC) hosted Frostburg State University (2-11, 1-7 MEC) on Monday evening in a contest that was originally slated for Jan. 5 until COVID-19 protocols postponed the originally scheduled contest. In the Falcons first game of 2022, Tamia Ridley and Alana Ellis generated double-double performances to will NDC to a gritty 69-60 victory. In addition, and to head coach Imani Gordon and Notre Dame's credit, the Falcons only had eight active players during the contest and were playing in their first game since Dec. 19.
 
"We are just trying to get back to ourselves and trying to get all the pieces of the team back." Stated Ellis post-game, "It's kind of hard right now but I feel like we are doing really well right now and staying positive through all of the adversity."
 
In the first quarter, the Falcons got off to a slow start as the Bobcats went on a 10-1 run over the majority of the quarter to lead 14-6 with 2:12 remaining. FSU would lead 17-10 after the first period.
 
In the second quarter, NDC turned up the defensive intensity by winning the quarter 14-8. The Falcons stifled the Bobcats during the period, as FSU shot 3-16 (18.8%) from the floor. Despite the solid quarter, Frostburg State led 25-24 at the break.
 
"I feel like we started pulling away when we started playing together." Said Ellis when asked about what point the team started to pull away, "In the first quarter it was kind of a rough start, but once everyone got their confidence, we started to get the grove of things and pull away to get the win.
 
To Ellis' point, Gordon and the Falcons made the important halftime adjustments as NDC rallied to score 45 second half points, ten better compared to FSU's 35. The third quarter was back and forth as the team's stayed within a bucket of each other, until Lilee Carlson netted two free throws with two seconds remaining in the period to open up a 44-40 Notre Dame lead, their largest of the game.
 
In the fourth quarter, FSU and NDC again exchanged buckets to begin the period as Ellis netted the first three baskets for Notre Dame. NDC would lead 50-47 at the 6:11 mark after Ellis's quick six points. Carlson and Jen Oduho would generate back-to-back buckets for the Falcons to swell the NDC lead to 61-52 with 2:39 remaining. Carlson and Marina Adachi would sink clutch free throws down the wire to seal the deal for Notre Dame. Carlson totaled eight of her 14 points off the bench during the final period.
 
On offense, Ellis led the way for NDC with a game-high 21 points, as Oduho (16), Carlson (14), Ridley (12) and Adachi (6) were the only other players to score for the Falcons on the evening. Ridley collected a game-high 16 rebounds to generate her fifth straight double-double performance, as Ellis cleaned a career-high ten boards en route to her first career double-double performance. Moreover, Ridley tallied a game-high three assists.
 
The story of the evening was Notre Dame's dominance inside the paint as the Falcons out-rebounded the Bobcats 51-35 and outscored FSU 40-28 inside said paint. NDC was also able grab 20 offensive rebounds and turn that into 20 second chance points.
 
The Notre Dame College women's basketball team will have a quick turnaround to Wednesday Jan. 12 at 5:30 p.m. when the Falcons travel to West Virginia State University.